


Eccentric Sweetheart

by jpena



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-23 00:20:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2527064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jpena/pseuds/jpena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You will say Peeta’s name even if you read mine in the slip of paper. I will volunteer as tribute. Katniss will come back to Peeta and they will live.” Haymitch said with a determined glint in his eyes.</p>
<p>Effie blinked, those eyelashes were too heavy for her delicate eyelids and face. “I can’t. I won’t let you die. They will know the Capitol will know.” She said with a broken voice. </p>
<p>He grabbed her arms and shook her. “You will. Do you remember their names?”</p>
<p>She nodded. “We owe them. Say their names.” He saw her eyes brim with tears. </p>
<p>“Ash.” He started and she repeated after him. “Alana, Lief, Laurel, Moss, Lily, Timothy, Rose, Gabriel, Sandy, Sylvester, Tania, Anya, Sage, Frank, Greta, Peter, Hazel, Ivy, Ralph, Reed and Tulip.” They finished together. “They are all dead. Do you want to add Peeta or Katniss to our list.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I probably shouldn’t write one of this. It just wouldn’t leave me alone. I am a raging Hayffie fan and have read a lot of fanfics. I wanted to try one of my own. Let me know what you guys think. I apologize for any mistakes.

Chapter 1

“Finally did the math. Didn’t you sweetheart?” Haymitch had brooded since the news of the new Quarter Quell were released.

“You have to promise. Peeta has to survive.” Katniss said desperately in front of him. Haymitch gulped some more whisky from his glass. Peeta had pleaded for Katniss’s life forty-five minutes before the girl made an appearance. 

“If he’s reaped I’ll volunteer but you and I both know that if I get reaped he will volunteer.” Haymitch reasoned. Katniss cried, she pleaded once more, “You can help him like you helped me in the arena. You have to promise Haymitch. Peeta has to win.”

“No one wins the Hunger Games sweetheart. They survive.” Haymitch said with a deep frown. 

“Just promise.” She sat down and drank with him until that boy Gale retrieved him.

The oldest victor from District 12 swore once more and put himself another glass of liquor. He would have to compete once more. It was the right thing to do. He would not let the kids die. Peeta and Katniss they deserved to be happy. They deserved to live. They would help each other and survive the horror. All he had to do was make sure Katniss and Peeta lived.

The phone rang. His phone never rang. Haymitch picked it up out of curiosity more than anything else. “Collect the package in front of your house now.” 

The man heard the phone go dead and swore under his breath. He heard a knock and fisted his knife. He approached the door silently and opened it swiftly. There was a brown box. He closed the door and left it there for a while until his curiosity got the better of him. Twenty minutes after the mysterious box arrived Haymitch Abernathy picked it up and placed it on his cluttered table. He debated whether to open it. It had the Capitol seal and therefore was mandated to open it. 

Haymitch did so. There was a letter addressed to him and a package detailing the procedures for the upcoming Hunger Games. The letter was standard issue, the same letter he received every year as a mentor. He was about to discard it when he noticed something. Plutarch Heavensbee wrote this letter.

The first two paragraphs were Capitol trash about Panem and its glorious past. The third paragraph was different however. This was pure Heavensbee. He had met the man for the first time a few weeks ago with Peeta, Katniss and Effie. The escort of course knew the new Head Gamekeeper. She gushed over him and introduced him to the man. The kids were somewhere else as per Effie’s orders. Haymitch was indifferent to the man but paid him a little more mind when he showed him the watch that sported the mockingjay symbol. Some had called it the symbol of the new revolution.

Mr. Abernathy, as you are aware these new games will be nothing sort of extraordinary. It is imperative that we meet at your earliest convenience. Of course this meeting will take place as soon as you reach the Capitol. It will be a pleasure to understand more about the fine craft of watchmaking. 

The rest of the letter was just as standard as the first paragraphs. Watchmaking, the Mockingjay, Heavensbee hinted at the mockingjay, the revolution. 

The thoughts mixed and swirled inside his head. He saw the bottle and drank for the rest of the night. He wanted oblivion, sleep that would only come after drinking a bottle or two. Sleep came rather too late, the mockingjay featured profusely in his alcohol infused nightmares. He saw the bird, mother, Mathew, his brother. Ivy no longer featured in any of his dreams. He had forgotten her face; he could only remember black glossy hair and the smell of fresh lilies. She was not there. His mother stared at him and did the three finger salute, as did little Mathew. He turned as saw Peeta and Katniss coming back from the arena, bloodied and injured. Peeta spoke to him. “She has to live. We don’t matter. She has to live. She is the mockingjay.”

He then saw a peacekeeper point a gun at his brother first. Mathew had looked so scared when the man in the white uniform pointed the gun. A shot to the head, and then he heard his mother scream once more. The peacekeeper pointed to her heart. Lastly Peeta and Katniss, with berries in their hands, lifeless in the arena.

Haymitch yelled and woke up. He threw up all over his bed and soiled himself. He walked unsteadily to the unkempt bathroom and dry heaved over the toilet. A shower, he needed a shower. He wanted to drown in the shower but then remembered Katniss and Peeta. They had to live. 

The next morning dawned bright and early. He felt the sun on his face and heard her voice. “Wake up. You have a big, big, day ahead of you. The cameras are ready and we have less than an hour to make you presentable.” Her voice sounded shriller than ever. In a way he welcomed her high-pitched voice. He cracked one eye open and saw her wearing one of her ugly wigs and a ridiculous dress make out of butterflies. He noticed then that there were other people around him too, a man and two women looking distastefully at him and the surroundings. 

“Leave the clothes here. I will make sure he bathes and dresses.” Effie said dismissingly. The citizens of the capitol left, the girl even mouthed a thank you as she closed the door behind her. 

Haymitch moved from the bed then. He was naked and moved to the bathroom. Effie followed him. “It isn’t fair. You already won.” She cried.

He sighed. “Of course it isn’t fair. Honestly sweetheart, do pay attention.” He said and washed his face. “I need a drink.”

“No drinks. Katniss was going to get married. Peeta and her are supposed to be safe. Now one of them will die.” Effie cried. 

“Not if I have any say over it.” He muttered. Effie had a keen sense of hearing. “What do you mean? There will only be one victor this year.”

Haymitch nodded while he looked for a drink. “Katniss will win.”

“What if Peeta is reaped?” She asked with a hint of sadness in her voice. Effie liked Peeta better. He could tell, hell, he liked Peeta better. The boy had a good soul and deserved s good life. Katniss would live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve Peeta. 

He turned around and caressed her pale face. She looked so ugly with all that make up. He preferred the other Effie, the one who smiled lazily at him when they were intimate, which was too few and far between the twelve years they had know each other. It was a rather practical arrangement; two discrete, consenting adults who used each other’s bodies to relieve stress or so he thought until last year. When she came crying to his bed, asking him to hold her. The rule of two victors had been a trick. There could only be one victor. 

“You will say Peeta’s name even if you read mine in the slip of paper. I will volunteer as tribute. Katniss will come back to Peeta and they will live.” Haymitch said with a determined glint in his eyes.

Effie blinked, those eyelashes were too heavy for her delicate eyelids and face. “I can’t. I won’t let you die. They will know the Capitol will know.” She said with a broken voice. 

He grabbed her arms and shook her. “You will. Do you remember their names?”

She nodded. “We owe them. Say their names.” He saw her eyes brim with tears. 

“Ash.” He started and she repeated after him. “Alana, Lief, Laurel, Moss, Lily, Timothy, Rose, Gabriel, Sandy, Sylvester, Tania, Anya, Sage, Frank, Greta, Peter, Hazel, Ivy, Ralph, Reed and Tulip.” They finished together. “They are all dead. Do you want to add Peeta or Katniss to our list.”

Effie shook her head. “You will die.” She stated the obvious once again.

“I will but I know you will take care of the kids. Can you do that for me Princess?” She nodded. “They will not die. Sometimes when I see Katniss I remember Alana. Do you think they are related? She had pretty grey eyes like her and you.”

“Seam eyes princess.” He retorted and kissed her cheek. He could not afford to be gentle with her outside of the privacy of his home. 

Effie seemed to come out of her trance and looked at him. “Yes, a big day. Shower first. I’ll have someone clean your bed. There is vomit all over it.” The woman bustled around and left him to his peace. Haymitch showered, and even complied with her choices for attire. He was ready for the reaping. 

The district’s square was full of people as it always was when the reaping day came. Effie walked up the steps and intoned. “Happy Third Quarter Quell. As always, ladies first.” Haymitch did not fail to notice her hand shook as she grasped the only piece of paper in the glass bowl. 

“The female tribute for district twelve is Katniss Everdeen.” The kid merely nodded and held Peeta’s hand. Effie moved to the other glass bowl. “Very well and now the male tribute for this year’s Quarter Quell is Peeta Mellark.” Effie’s voice intoned with a high-pitched voice. Peeta smiled at Katniss. 

Katniss looked at him with desperate eyes and he knew then. If he ever had any doubts they were dispelled then. “I volunteer as tribute.” Haymitch stepped forward. Peeta refused instantly. “You promised.” Peeta hissed and looked at Effie. “He can’t do that. I don’t want him to volunteer for me. I refuse. I will be going to the Games with Katniss.” The boy’s pleas were drowned by peacekeepers.

Katniss raised her hand in response to her mother’s mockingjay gesture. Haymitch did it too. Soon the peacekeepers dragged them there and then. They were to get on the train for the capital before a riot started. 

“How could you do this? You gave me your word. You chose her before, you owed me this.” Peeta charged as soon as they entered the cabins. The boy pushed him to a wall. Haymitch pushed back. “I chose you this time. You will not have to go back to the arena.” The older man offered. 

“You cannot protect her. It had to be her and me. I would have protected her make sure she won.” Peeta roared and tried to punch him. 

He pulled out his knife. “Step aside boy. I will make sure she stays alive.” He then grabbed a bottle of wine and left for his cabin.

“You will have to train; both of you and the sponsors… Haymitch you have to tell Peeta about our lists and the best way to approach them.” He could hear Effie’s voice trail down the halls. He uncorked the bottle with his knife and drank it all before the hour was up. He drank another bottle of something or other and passed out on the floor. 

Effie must have found him and somehow managed to get him back on the bed. He woke up in the middle of the night with a raging thirst and an equally troublesome headache. He moved and found her next to him. She was asleep, her face peaceful, she must have forgotten to get rid of all the crap on her face. 

He remembered the first time he saw her without make up. It was after Frank’s death. The boy had made it five days, longer than any of their previous tributes. Effie ran out and got sick all over her bathroom. Frank had been impaled and killed brutally by three careers. She cried, wiped her face and heaved at the same time. “He was supposed to win.” Haymitch helped her up. “He should have never slept so close to the cornucopia.” She slapped him hard. 

“You don’t care. Frank was a nice boy. He was a very nice boy and had manners.” She sobbed and hit his chest time and time again. Haymitch watched as the make up came off. The fake eyelashes, eyebrows, she almost looked normal but for the ugly red wig. She must have noticed, because in less than five minutes she screeched and had him out her bathroom. 

After then Effie became real, less of a mannequin and more of a person. The capitol woman was selfish, vacuous person but a person nonetheless. She did not speak of her breakdown. They continued insulting each other and avoiding each other most of the time. 

The man watched as her chest rose and fell. He remembered the first time they had sex. It was only five years ago. Greta and Peter, cousins, dead in the bloodbath. They were town kids. Effie did not cry this time. She got drunk. Drunken Effie was a horny Effie. He tried to pry her wandering hands away from him but she was relentless. 

“We could have a lot of fun Haymitch.” She whispered, her voice contrasted from her usual pitchy tones and screeches. It was low, sultry, beckoning. Haymitch had had his fair share of women over the years. A lot of girls threw themselves at him when he first won the games. The man had been so broken after his family was killed. He took refuge in alcohol and sex. 

She kissed him hard and then it was all a blur, a haze of touch and sex. It had been extremely satisfying for both of them. Haymitch had pulled the wig off and had seen her real hair for the first time. Effie had beautiful blonde hair, unlike his dirty blonde looks. Her hair was medium length and soft to the touch. She moaned when he ran his fingers through it. Effie’s body had felt heavenly under his. “We need protection.” He muttered when the woman’s hand grasped his erection. “Capitol Injections.” She whispered breathily and kissed him hard. He never expected proper Euphemia Trinket to moan and ask him to fuck her. 

In that moment he forgot that Effie believed in the Capitol, that she was a bystander and took active part in sending children to their deaths every year. All he wanted was to be inside of her. He had her that night many times, until they were both exhausted. He had to give it to Effie. She seemed more ashamed than him to have committed such act with him. Those had been her exact words. “It was despicable and we should never speak of it again. It was a mistake.” 

Haymitch had retorted with something hurtful and tried to forget all about the hot encounter until the next year when it was Effie who cornered him in the train. He whispered roughly. “Couldn’t stay way could you Princess?” That had marked the beginning of their unspoken agreement. Effie was the one to seek him. Never once had he initiated anything and it was Effie the first to leave. 

He had not expected Effie to be in his bed but she was there and for the first time in their agreement he reached out first. He caressed the side of her face. “What are you doing here Princess?”

She pretended to be asleep but he could feel the tension in her shoulders. He felt a little proud. Effie was so very responsive to his touch. He ran his fingers over her arm and felt the tell tale goose bumps break over her skin. "I know you are awake." He kissed her neck and moved the strap of the thin nightgown she wore. 

She turned and kissed him lightly. "You reek of alcohol." She pushed back. "You can go back to your cabin." He said gruffly.

She did not move but kissed him again. He kissed her back and rolled them until she was underneath him. She looked up and moved his greasy hair back. "I pulled your name out." She said in a whisper. He bit her thin lower lip. "You did very good sweetness."

"Is it terribly wrong that I wished you hadn't volunteered." Light blue eyes looked at him with sorrow. This was dangerous. Effie was not supposed to look at him in that way. She looked as if she cared. This woman could not care. He did not care about Effie. 

"Don't speak nonsense Effie." He grabbed her breasts. She moaned but tried to slow his frantic caresses. She grabbed his hands and gently posed them over her hips. They felt bigger, she felt different. He slowed down and took her lead. She murmured his name as he thrust into her. It felt so incredibly good to have her. Effie kissed him giddily when Katniss and Peeta were proclaimed victors. He had never been able to resist her. The last time he had her had been at the beginning of that blasted tour. That had been three months ago.

Haymitch focused on her milky shoulders. He kissed them carefully, methodically, with unprecedented care. Effie was in the mood for talking. He did not want to argue. It felt too good for her to storm out in the middle of what they were doing. "I don't want you to die. I don't want Katniss to die either."

She looked about to cry. The man did the only thing he could. He kissed her deeply, shutting her at last. Effie's tongue met his. She wanted to speak but he didn't let her. He exploded inside of her, with Effie calling out to him. She reached her climax, and kissed the side of his face gently. This was new, so very uncharacteristic of her. She was not one to linger but this time she pulled him back and to her chest.

"You will have to train. Peeta wants to start training you and Katniss immediately." She frowned when he rolled his eyes.

"Do not roll your eyes Haymitch Abernathy."

"I know I have to train Princess but what is most important now is for Katniss to form alliances and for you to network. We need all the sponsors we can get. You need to work with the boy and have him milk his love for Katniss as much as he can." She perked a little. 

"We are a team. We'll make sure those kids live." She used her most serious voice. That voice annoyed him the most. 

He nodded. The next thing he knew Effie was fast asleep by his side.

They arrived to the Capitol early in the morning. Effie was her usual self, hurrying, tsking, and annoying everyone especially Katniss and him. 

Peeta was becoming a close second in his list of people to avoid. The boy pulled him aside when he inched close to the open bar. "We have a week and a half. You are a drunk. Your body will go through withdrawal for a couple of days. We have to make sure you are at your best."

Haymitch had never actually attempted to stay sober. It did not hold any appeal to him whatsoever. Nor did he plan to start any time soon. It had been hell on him, the last time anyone imposed sobriety on him. He made his views very clear to Peeta then. “No.”

Peeta did not move away from him. “But you will. You volunteered. It should have been me in that arena with her.” The boy looked angry once again. 

“What purpose will it serve if I was sober? Katniss can take care of herself. She will outlast us both. She is a survivor.”

“You’ll be dead weight for her. You’ll slow her down. She will worry about you. Katniss will become distracted and I can’t have that.” Haymitch wanted to believe Peeta cared about him. This was not the same boy who baked him bread and made sure he was alive. He was a young mind with only one goal. Keep Katniss alive. 

“No more alcohol.” Peeta grabbed the bottle from his hand and threw it across the room. Haymitch closed in on him until Effie appeared out of nowhere. “Hurry along, we have a tight schedule to follow. Now, now Peeta, come along dear. You have got to meet Plutarch. He’s the head Gamemaker. I am sure he will sympathize with your plight to keep Katniss safe.” She grabbed Peeta and bustled around him. Haymitch grabbed a bottle from the cabin and drank from it.

Katniss and her prep team were already in the pent house. Effie and Peeta were to go there too. Haymitch followed them from a safe distance. He felt somebody tap his shoulder. The man turned violently and came face to face to one Plutarch Heavensbee. “Walk with me Mr. Abernathy.”

Haymitch did so. He had been intrigued since he received the box from the man. “It was almost heroic what you did for Peeta. You volunteered for the boy. You shouldn’t have.” The man said with an air of unimportance. 

Heavensbee led him to his quarters. “What is the purpose of this?”

“Don’t play dumb Haymitch. I know you can feel it. The tour, the masses are unhappy. There is a revolution coming and we have the face of it. 

“Katniss.” Haymitch said. 

“The Mockingjay.” Plutarch replied. “She is the face. These games, they have gone long enough. It is time. We can stop this.”

Haymitch laughed. This was not the first time someone approached him about a revolution. The Capitol was incredibly adept at squashing such uprising. This Quarter Quell was a clear example. Snow wanted Katniss dead. She was getting too big, too strong for all the wrong reasons. 

“You have no resources, no power to start a revolution. The districts are not powerful enough. The Capitol had control over all of them. Not to mention districts 2 and 1 will never rebel against the Capitol.” Haymitch went to the liquor cabinet and poured two glasses of whiskey. 

“Now, I say you help me. Katniss wins these games and she marries Peeta. The Capitol is happy and Snow is happy. No more insubordination, just Katniss and Peeta, perfect love story.”

Plutarch shook his head. “I thought you had more spine. Let me show you something.” The man moved to one of his monitors, a hidden one behind his desk. “This is District 13.” Haymitch saw pictures of deserted lands and then swiped the pictures to find underground bases. People, survivors, Haymitch grew up with stories of the Dark Days and how District 13 rebelled. The Capitol bombed the land until there was nothing more. 

“Impossible.” He couldn’t hide his disbelief. 

“Very possible my friend. The revolution will start. What do you say Haymitch?”

In that very second he made a quick snap decision. He raised his glass and sealed his fate. “To the Mockingjay and the revolution.”


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Heavensbee showed him the other Tributes for this year. “I have contacted our allies. We will rescue you. Katniss must not know of course. No one must know we are doing this…”

Haymitch left the office with clear knowledge of the plan. Heavensbee was to cooperate with the capital until it was pivotal for them to do so. All he had to do was make sure to stay with their allies and made sure Katniss did not do anything stupid like she was prone to do. 

He went into the penthouse and found the kids watching his Quarter Quell. Effie was there too. She was the first to notice him. “Where were you? We have been looking for you?” Katniss started on him. 

“Calm down sweetheart.” He avoided looking at the screen. Maysilee, he held her as she bled out. He remembered it all. Soon the career girl would come and hack at his stomach. The force field would rebound and he would be crowned Victor of the Second Quarter Quell. 

He sat down and grabbed a flask of liquor. Peeta seemed about to speak. “We will start tomorrow. I promise.”

“We are a team. We will get through this.” Effie said with a smile. He smiled back. “We are a team.” Her eyes sparkled. 

“I had a thought.” She said chirpily. 

“You don’t say.” Haymitch offered sarcastically. 

“Katniss has her mockingjay pin. I of course have my wig. I was thinking I could get you boys something gold too.”

Peeta, as always the kind heart that he was smiled encouragingly, surprisingly Katniss smiled too. “That would be very nice Effie.” The girl said. Haymitch did not remember Katniss being so outwardly nice to their escort. The man decide that maybe asking them to trust Effie would not be as hard as he initially thought. 

He looked at Peeta and muttered, “Boy, you have to listen to everything Effie tells you. She will be my eyes here." Katniss and Peeta looked puzzled. He understood then, they liked Effie but she was Capitol. Haymitch should not trust her. He did not know whether Effie wanted to be part of Plutarch's revolution. All he knew was that the Capitol woman would not betray him or the kids. 

Effie was touched by his words. "We are a team. Maybe, perhaps there could be two victors like last time. Wouldn't that be nice Haymitch?" She addressed him directly. 

“It would Sweetheart.” He said with a roll of his eyes, lest the children think he was being too nice to the annoying escort. The woman of course knew how to take a lead. “I will think about your tokens. Train hard and don’t forget to watch the rest of the tapes Haymitch.” She left them there. 

The man spent the afternoon with the children, watching their fellow victors win different Hunger Games. All the while he thought about those who they hadn’t secured. The career tributes were out of the question. That left them with four dangerous contenders. They had not secured district 5, 9 and 10, it would be unlikely they would do so. He was distracted the whole afternoon. His thoughts were back to the Arena, the tributes and the fact that they needed a plan of attack. 

“Time to train.” Peeta stood up and grabbed Katniss. Haymitch had no intention to leave the cozy penthouse. 

“Get up. We have to start your regime now. You should have thought about your lack of resistance before volunteering as tribute.” Peeta used a decisive tone.

The man laughed but stood up. “Spare me your theatrics.”

Peeta grilled him. He was correct about something, Haymitch lacked resistance. He was not as fast, strong and healthy as he had been twenty-five years ago. Katniss, was more than prepared to defend herself. In fact she would be defending Haymitch by the look of things. By the time Peeta called a halt to his fitness regime it was almost midnight. 

“No drinking. If you drink you won’t be alert.” Haymicth growled. He could already feel withdrawal symptoms. He felt tired, needed the bathroom and felt lightheaded. 

The man dragged his body to the penthouse. The children were still training or so they claimed. All he wanted was a sip of something. If he could just have one single drink of whiskey he would be good. A voice that sounded too much like Peeta reminded him, "You won't stop at one. You never do." He opened the door. He was of no use trembling and hallucinating. He went to his stash. It would be next to the living room table. Nothing. Haymitch frowned. The boy was thorough. He went to his room. The lights were off. He needed a shower and maybe this time he would sleep. He felt exhausted. Soon his body will give out to headaches, tremors, with his luck delirium too.

"Haymitch?" Effie sounded as if she had just woken up. He envied her good fortune, to sleep without nightmares. He found her in her nightgown. This time all the layers of make up had been removed. Her hair was in two neat braids. She smiled at him. 

He was not used to easy smiles from her. He scowled; "what are you doing here?"

She scowled back. "I thought you would appreciate my company.” She stood up and he could her see her slim body through the sheer fabric of the gown. He did not give her time to leave the room. He pounced, as soon as he felt her lips on his Haymitch was lost to her. This slip of woman had a hold of him; it was undeniable. He hated himself for it. He hated that he wanted her all the time know. The man abhorred the fact that he slept better when Effie Trinket slugged a possessive arm over his torso. He hated that she was Capitol. He kissed her hard. She matched his fire. She was no wallflower. Effie was fire; he liked fire, he was fascinated by it. 

Effie bit his jaw. “Please tell me you have a plan for the arena.” 

He chuckled, and moved his mouth to her collarbone, “that good huh? Can’t live without my cock?”

“Don’t be crass. Of course I can live without it.” She caressed him through his pants. 

He smirked and tugged at one of her braids. She kissed his chest, a scar from his time in the arena. “I’ll tell you all about my plans when we get inside the covers.”

“Getting shy on me now?” She giggled.

“Don’t want anyone to hear you or see you.” He rasped. Effie rubbed him all through out their conversation. 

“Get in the bed Princess.” Effie smiled and let the sheer nighty drop. She got under the covers and waited for him. He was next to her in a matter of seconds. He pulled the sheets over their bodies. She laughed good-naturedly, “You’re ridiculous Haymitch Abernathy.” 

He had to ask her, it was now or never. He was face to face with her and massaged her shoulder blades. "Effie, how many children have you lost in the games?"

She tensed, "could we not? I wanted to help you tonight but I see you don't need me."

"I have lost forty six and then Katniss happened. She changed everything, her actions woke me up."

"Peeta too. Not only Katniss, Peeta is alive. He deserves as much credit." Effie frowned. Haymitch smirked; Peeta was her favorite. He understood the girl better. 

He pulled a leg over her body and moved her closer to him. "Do you want the games to count for something? It is time we stopped sending children to their deaths." She understood when he tweaked a nipple. She made a sound. He was distracted for a few seconds when she posed her hands over his navel. 

"They have always meant something Haymitch. They exist to remind us of the power of the Capitol." She said with only a trace of venom in her voice. He liked to think he knew Effie. He had thought so for the first seven years or so and then their hatred for each other changed into comfort, sex and a begrudging friendship on his part. Here they were naked under the sheets and he did not know whether this woman would support the rebellion. He leapt. "You are not stupid Princess. The districts are not united, they have never been. Katniss has given us hope. She's the Mockingjay."

Effie then surprised him. "The Rebels' symbol, and the poor girl doesn't know it."

Haymitch felt unexplainable joy when he heard her utter those words. He kissed her slowly. He didn't want to speak anymore. Effie however broke the kiss. "Too dangerous. You cannot risk it." She said between his kisses.

"I'm going to die Princess. There is no scenario in which I live." Effie kissed him again and again biting his lips. "I want Katniss to win but I don't want you to die." She licked his neck and bit a nipple gently.

Haymitch watched as she descended on him. The sheets were cumbersome then. Abruptly he remembered why they needed sheets to cover. He pulled her up to his chest. "Don't try to distract me. I want you to know. I'm going to the arena to make sure Katniss lives. She will be the face of the rebellion.” 

Effie frowned. "Katniss is a survivor. She wants no part in any politics. The girl does not have it in her and neither do you. This is nonsense Haymitch."

He was frustrated then. The man overpowered her and they were tangled under the sheets. He managed to be on top of her. “Are you in or are you out? What happened to your speech of teamwork?” He asked with a serious tone, trying to sway her to the cause perhaps she did not believe in. It dawned on him; he sought Effie’s approval because for the last twelve years it has been them together trying to save their tributes. They fought, insulted and at times hated each other but every year they met each other. At first Effie had been his target to let his frustrations out and then she became an ally, almost a friend and now he couldn’t think of Effie not being with him. He wanted her to badger him about schedules, his drinking, and his cursing, anything but for her to be there. She had been there twelve years. She should be there for them. 

“We are a team. Aren’t we?” She said solemnly. “I don’t agree Haymitch. This is too much but I want you and Katniss alive. I would sleep easier if you told me that you’ll come out alive and so will Katniss. I’ll help you only if you promise we’ll be safe.” She said in all honesty.

He smirked, “I promise.” Haymitch knew whom she meant by us. She meant their victors and them. The man liked to think they were her family. He kissed her once more. Effie responded with equal fervor. Soon he was kissing a trail of fire down her throat. He touched her breasts and torso. The man grew uncomfortable with the sheets over them and pulled them out of it. She moaned close to his ear when he ran his index finger over her sex. “You said we needed the sheet.”

“Sweetheart, they can tell what we’re doing under the sheets. I want to watch you scream for me.” He growled when her legs crossed at the small of his back. Haymitch thrust inside of her. She gasped when he bit her earlobe. Effie stayed the night and did not leave his side until the day of the Third Quarter Quell. 

He woke up from his nightmares. Effie was disoriented but managed to keep him from grabbing his knife. “It’s fine.” She mumbled and pulled him down with her. She hushed him. “I’m sleepy Haymitch. You start real training tomorrow. Get some sleep now.” She kissed his neck and rested on his chest. He lay awake all night, sweating and thinking but somehow it felt better than sweating and thinking alone. 

Morning came too soon. Haymitch had not slept, wanted a drink and shook from withdrawal symptoms. They would only get worse. He did not understand why the kid wanted his sober. It would only make him weaker, feeble and worst of all incapable of thinking straight. 

Effie was off as soon as morning came. She was off to doing things that Effie did probably with Portia or Cinna. She came back when Peeta called her. Haymitch was afraid it would come to that, he was hallucinating. According to the kids, he had pointed his knife to Peeta and an avox. He called Katniss Maysilee and told her to not go with the pink bird. He then called Peeta Mathew and asked for Lana. Peeta went in search for Effie. She managed to get him into the bed. 

The next five days were hell on Haymitch. He trashed, begged, screamed, soiled himself, shook, pleaded and attempted to hit everyone on sight. Effie had taken the brunt of his verbal abuse. She frowned deeply but kept being her persistent self. Even Peeta had been ready to give him alcohol when he called Effie a Capitol whore and then attempted to throw his knife at her back. Peeta had been ready to punch his mentor into unconsciousness but Effie stopped him. “He is not himself. Give it another two days or so.” She seemed to be trying to convince herself more than anything else. 

Fortunately for them all, Haymitch came around one night after the sixth day of withdrawal. He was sleeping easier now; unbeknownst to the children Effie stayed nearby just in case Haymitch needed anything. He woke up and took a shower; he had a headache but could stand up and walk to the sink. He looked like shit. He felt like shit. He was shit; he almost hit Effie and Peeta. Was that two or three days ago? What was today’s date? How long until the Quarter Quell?”

He went in search for answers. Effie, she’ll know. He was about to leave for her quarters when he saw her by the sofa. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought you might need me later.” She rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“What’s today’s date?” He asked, he felt dizzy, she must have realized because soon he was back in bed. “What’s today’s date?”

“Thursday the 8th.” She said patiently.

“Can’t be. Yesterday was the 4th.” He said as if speaking with a small child. 

“It’s been almost a week Haymitch.” She replied. 

He wanted to throw up. “I have to train. The kid is expecting me to protect the girl.”

“He is but you have a plan don’t you Haymitch.” He nodded. Plutarch had the plan not him. He needed to train and protect the girl. 

Effie helped him shower and put him to bed. He did not fail to notice that she hesitated when he pulled her to him. “I’m sorry I called you a whore.” She stiffened. 

“Let’s forget about it.” She pleaded and kissed the scar by his nipple. 

Neither Peeta nor Katniss were as understanding as Effie had been. “You called her a whore and tried to throw a knife at her.” Peeta said as they trained. Haymitch barely avoided a knife the boy aimed at him. He was feeling better by a long shot. He felt a little more energy and even practiced archery with Katniss. The tremors were becoming less pronounced by then.

Peeta was oddly pleased. “You are not as fast as your first games and tire too easily but you’re not completely useless. You’re stronger than I thought.” The boy grinned. Hyamitch frowned and left the children with their laughter. 

The next two days went the same way until it was time to for the parade. Cinna outdid himself with Katniss dress. Portia dressed him in leathers. Effie approved or so she said later that night. Finnick chatted Katniss up some and he introduced her to Chadff and Seeder. 

“These tributes are crazy.” Haymitch led her to the exits. 

Peeta waited for them by the elevators. “That was fantastic. Effie is back there collecting sponsors.” Peeta had a smile on his face. 

He shook his head. “Let’s get in and talk some more about these tributes.” The doors were about to close when in came Johanna Mason.

“Lumber. District 7. My stylist is an idiot. I would love to put my axe through her face.” Katniss rolled her eyes. 

“How does it feel now that the whole world wants to sleep with you?” She asked with a wondrous voice. 

“I don’t think the whole world wants to sleep with me.” Katniss drawled. 

“I wasn’t talking to you.” She turned, “unzip me.” She looked right at Peeta. The boy looked at him and then at Katniss. They boy unzipped Johanna who turned and gave them quite a little show. 

Katniss looked disgusted, the same could not be said for him and Peeta. Johanna winked at him. “Thanks, let’s do it again sometime.”

She said as she left the elevator. “Thank you.” He smiled a little. “Johanna Mason, District 7.”

Katniss glared at him and stormed past them when they reached their floor. “She’ll get over it.” Haymitch muttered. Peeta nodded and went in search for her.

He felt someone at the door. Haymitch gripped his knife tight. The person came closer, he smelled lavender, Effie was there. He relaxed and placed the knife back. He felt her kiss his neck and smiled. “I heard Johanna gave you a little show.” Effie straddled him. He opened his eyes and watched as she ground her sex over his. “She did.”

Effie smirked, she reminded him of a shark. “Did you look at her?”

Haymitch nodded when she lift up a little and touched his cock with her hand. She traced her fingers over his erection. “I did.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Did you get aroused?” She made the question sound so innocent. 

“I did not.” Haymitch answered honestly. 

She smiled winningly. “Would you have gotten aroused if it was me?” She licked the shell of his ear. “What if it had been me in that elevator? Without the children of course.” 

He ran his hands over her back and noticed she only had a shift over her body. “I would have pushed you to a wall.” “Show me.” She whispered. 

He stood up and pushed her to a wall by his bed. “What else would you have done Haymitch?” Her breath hitched when he lifted her shift up.

“Oh, I’ll show you Princess.” He kissed her violently, like many times before. She responded with equal violence. He liked this better than their fights. Effie hooked one leg over his hips. “Take off your pants.” She huffed. She grabbed his hair and moaned. Haymitch helped her lower his pajama pants and finally he entered. 

“Fuck Haymitch.” The man went wild whenever this proper woman cursed. He growled. “Do you like this Effie?”

“Yes.” She gasped when he grabbed her leg. She opened her eyes and watched as he pounded into her. Haymitch did not remember taking her so hard, so fast. His senses had always been dulled by alcohol. He liked when her nails raked over his back, when she told him to go faster, when she begged for him to let her finish. He clutched her and carried her to bed. He kissed her and bit her lip gently. She gasped once more and tried to keep her voice down. She was close; he could feel her tightening around him. The bed moved against the wall. “Be quiet Princess.” He smirked and kissed her. She came and forced him to come right after her. He slumped over her. She smiled and caressed his sweaty hair. “I like it when you don’t drink.” He smirked “Don’t get too used to it.” He bit her neck playfully.

The next day it was their time to perform their individual assessments with the gamemakers. He dressed and woke Effie so she could go to her room and change for the day. She looked very much fuckable with her hair undone and her pouty lips. They met for breakfast. Katniss was her usual ray of sunshine; Haymitch was rested and ate heartily. The girl frowned but kept her comments to herself. Effie wore a bright magenta dress and an equally blinding wig.

Soon Effie hurried them along and out of their quarters. She showed Peeta around the training center; the boy milked his undying love tripe. He would tell anyone who would hear how much he loved her. “She was going to be a beautiful bride. You should have seen her dress. I have never seen her so beautiful and now she’ll have to fight for her life but I know she’ll win. She has too, I’ll die with her if she doesn’t make it out.” The ladies among the sponsors ate it all up. 

He smirked; the boy was good. “I hate all of this.” Katniss muttered and glared at a young woman who touched Peeta’s arm. 

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous sweetheart?” He drawled mockingly. 

“Are not.” She replied and went ahead of him to the training centers. 

Haymitch walked slowly, carefully and was rewarded when an avox gave him a small letter. “All our allies are secured. All but five. The first three and those we spoke about.”

He crumpled the letter and placed it inside his pocket. As soon as he entered the training center he felt sick. Cecelia and Seeder. They shouldn’t be there. Chaff was nursing a drink on his left hand. He would give his right hand for a drink right now. 

Chaff came his way. “Fancy seeing you here.” He said jovially. Haymitch smiled and hugged him. He saw Finnick. Johanna and Brutus were combating by a green mat. Mags was by herself with a string, making knots. Beetee and Wiress talking to each other, Enobaria with her sharp teeth. It was going to be horrible. 

“It’ll start now my friend. I met our little bee. Who would have thought?” Chaff laughed uproariously. Haymitch chuckled and moved on. 

Katniss did not go near Joanna or Finnick. He hoped she would do so. They were strong and would have been good allies for her to have. Katniss was a mule and wanted Mags, Beetee and Wiress, even the morphlings from six. The girl was so hardheaded. Peeta shook his head at her and waited until she and Effie were gone. 

“Who do you think at her best allies for now?” The boy asked. 

“Odair, and Mason. Chaff and Seeder will be of help too.” Haymitch rubbed his eyes. 

“I don’t know how you’ve managed this for twenty four years. I’m ready to tear my hair out. Effie won’t shut up about all the important sponsors I need to meet. It’s been a true nightmare. She’s always so high spirited,” Haymitch chuckled. 

“I would recommend you listened to her.” Hyamitch said curtly and left the boy. It was his time to show his talents. Haymitch watched as the gamemakers watched from their window. He used the puppets and the animated fields to show his skills with his knife. He didn’t think he did so badly. 

Haymitch made direct eye contact with Plutarch. The gamemaker saluted him with a half raised glass of whiskey. 

He stepped out and saw Katniss go in. “Do not do anything stupid.” He warned her. She had been more acerbic than usual the whole afternoon. She refused to greet some of the tributes. This girl needed to think about her alliances but instead she sulked and sought out the weakest links. 

She glared at him but nodded. The girl did something stupid. He would learn that night; she hanged one of the dummies. She even named him Seneca Crane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alcohol withdrawal symptoms are way worse than what Haymitch experiences in this chapter especially for him. In the books we are led to believe he has been drinking for at least twenty or more years and at the same time he stops drinking for brief periods of time or at least drinks less. I am not sure how manageable that can be in real life but for the sake of argument and time. (In this story he is going to the arena a week after the reaping or so). 
> 
> Also this story will be multichaptered :) 
> 
> Thanks for reading and please be kind and leave your thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Peeta was livid and so was Effie. Haymitch had berated her enough and took her side when the Princess and the boy tried to kick her while she was down. “What were you thinking Katniss? They control the arena. They can break you the first day if they wish to do so.” Effie tutted and fussed, she looked to him for support. Haymitch placed a hand to Katniss shoulder. “Enough. She will just have to dazzle the Capitol during her interview.”

Effie frowned. “She should know better. Peeta and I have been out, scouting sponsors all afternoon and she pulls a stupid stunt like that.” Katniss hung her head and couldn’t meet Peeta’s eyes. The boy glared at the adults.

“Effie, I said enough.” Haymitch thundered. Effie gasped but quieted. “I am tired, it has been quite a day. Goodnight.” Haymitch could feel the tension in the air. 

He looked at the empty liquor cabinet with longing. “Do not pull anything like that ever again.” He hissed and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. “Do you understand?”

The girl nodded. Peeta sat down with her and took her hands in his. Haymitch left them in search for Effie. 

He opened the door to her room. “Princess, are you decent?” He saw as she unclipped her wig with more force than required. 

“You were rude.” Effie said with a hash tone.

Haymitch did not respond but undid his shirt and reclined on the bed. He listened to her rant about manners, how insensitive him and Katniss were for about thirty minutes until she slipped next to him. He kissed her shoulder and spooned her. “She is nothing but a scared girl. She’s not in her right mind.”

“It will get her killed unnecessarily. How are you going to survive the arena? What’s the plan?” She turned, her blue eyes looked worried. “I won’t tell you. The less you know the better it is for all of us.” He meant every word he said. 

“I need to know.” She said desperately.

“You don’t princess. It will all work out. We will be just fine. All of us.” He said with a conviction unknown to him. 

Haymitch kissed the top of her head. “Trust me.” 

“I do. I shouldn’t but I do Haymitch. Cinna has something big for Katniss. Portia is worried. Should I be worried?”

The man shook his head. “I don’t know what Cinna has under his sleeves Princess but you have to be ready. If you as much as feel threatened, hide, take Peeta and hide in your flat.” He looked at her in the eyes. “Princess, I want you to listen to me. When the time comes and they take Katniss and me to the arena. Go to the watching center with Peeta, stay with people you trust. Never leave Peeta’s sight. He will protect you if it comes down to that.”

She nodded and hugged him. “You promise we will be fine. The children and us, promise me no one will die.”

Haymitch kissed her hands. “No more dead children I swear.” He couldn’t promise her he would live but he could promise to die before anything happened to Katniss, Peeta or her for that matter. 

The next few days were a blur of trainings and lesser interviews. Suddenly the night of their final interviews was upon them. Katniss was to wear one of the wedding dresses, President Snow had been adamant. 

Effie fussed around Katniss. “You will make a beautiful bride one day.”

“Thank you Effie.” Effie wore a pink wig and a dress. She did not look as clownish as other days. 

“You’ll show them what real beauty looks like.” She said with a happy voice. 

He watched from afar as they bantered with Johanna. Effie looked at the district 7’s tribute with disdain. 

Katniss’s interview went perfectly. Effie and Cinna’s lessons had been fruitful. The girl was bloody perfect. 

It was his turn then. Peeta had talked to him earlier and told him about an idea he had. It was brilliant and would cause more dissent among Capitol and district citizens. He did not remember there being so many bright lights and people in the last Quarter Quell. 

Caesar looked exactly as he had twenty-five years ago. “Haymitch Abernathy.” He greeted him as if he were an old friend. 

He grimaced and sat down. “You volunteered. That was truly heroic.” Caesar said with a smile. 

“I don’t know about heroic but I know I could not watch Peeta and Katniss fight for their lives again. They are like my children.” Effie and him had a very vocal and vicious row about him talking. The last time he was truly disinterested and came across and a brooding teenager. He could not afford the same attitude. According to Effie he was a grown man and would come as apathetic and unlikeable. “Appeal to the masses.” She screeched at last. He could hear her pleading with him to do so. She had done so in the privacy of his rooms and did not sleep until he promised to do so. 

He could hear the Capitol citizen’s ohh and ahh of sympathy. 

“We are glad you’ll be in the arena to protect our girl on fire. Our own Mockingjay.” The man dazzled him with his white teeth. 

“It’s the least I can do considering Katniss’s state.” Haymitch whispered. 

Caesar took the bait and questioned him. “It is not my place to say this but we have a tradition in district 12. Peeta and Katniss had their toast. They couldn’t wait to be married you see. They were so happy with the news of her pregnancy.” He heard the public roar and gasp. 

Caesar understood the implications then and tried to finish the interview. “I am sure the kids would not have any regrets if it weren’t for the baby.” Haymitch finished with a very fake broken voice. 

The next thing he knew the Capitol interviewer ushered him to the podium with the rest of the victors. Katniss smiled at him and took his hand. They held hands and raised them above. It triggered the whole victors to do so. The lights went off as expected. 

“Let’s go sweetheart our job here is done.” He grabbed her hand and looked for Peeta and Effie. They were waiting with big smiles. “Absolutely perfect Haymitch. I couldn’t have done a better job.” Peeta was very satisfied. 

They hurried to the penthouse. There were peacekeepers everywhere, keeping people at bay, opening crowds for them to go through. They were inside their quarters when Effie turned on the TV. Haymitch did not know if she expected to hear news about the interviews but he let her be. 

“We only have one more day.” Peeta said somberly. This time he would not go in the arena with Katniss. 

Effie took her eyes off the screen. “Yes, you’ll have a day to yourselves tomorrow. No more schedules. Her smile wavered. I have been summoned to the gamemakers headquarters and will not see any of you tomorrow. Haymicth felt ice cold ran down his spine. “What do you mean? You have to be with Peeta and recruit more sponsors.”

“Yes, yes, quite right you are Haymitch. Plutarch has invited Peeta and I to view the games in the privacy of new quarters.” She said with a bright smile. “While you two go to the arena Peeta and I will make sure you get the best help.”

“I have not been summoned.” Peeta said defiantly. He wanted to have his day with Katniss as he wanted to have his day with Effie. 

The escort smiled. “Fine, have your day with Katniss. I will retrieve you the morning of the games.”

He smiled and kissed her cheek. “Thank you Effie.” Katniss hugged her goodbye. It would be the last time they would see each other in almost a year. 

Haymitch watched as the children went away. “What is that about you being summoned by the gamemakers?” He asked as soon as the kids were out of earshot. 

“I lied. I wanted to spend the day with you. I have a bad feeling about these games Haymitch. You shouldn’t have volunteered.” She said. 

“It was the only way. Peeta and Katniss, they are all that matters.” He said. 

Effie nodded and grabbed his hands. “I have a surprise for you.” She said and pulled him to his room. He bet he would love her surprise. Inside the room she had a TV on and then touched it. Out of the TV came propo like films. She remembered he liked them. Old films had been the only things he liked about the Capitol. Most citizens considered films to be of no value, dull, since they had live events being filmed for their enjoyment.

“How did you manage to get all these films Princess?” He asked surprised. “I have my ways.” She replied. 

“I want you to enjoy yourself Haymitch. I would give you alcohol but Peeta forbade me to do so.” She rested her head on his shoulder. Haymicth felt uncomfortable once more. This thing with Effie was nothing more than sex. He stiffened and she rolled her eyes. “Please just for tonight and tomorrow don’t be stupid.” 

He frowned. “I’m very clever.” He said trying to deflect attention from the issue at hand. 

She sighed. “I am not stupid Haymitch and I like to think we are friends. Are we friends?”

He looked into her blue eyes. They had been together as a team for twelve years and the last two he could not think about being a mentor without her. “We are.” She was his friend he realized, not as close as Chaff or the people in the district but a friend nonetheless. Effie actually cared for the kids and him occasionally. 

“Why don’t you tell me the plan? I need to know.” Suddenly he was angry. 

“Nice try Princess.” He stood up from the bed and walked to the door. She was on her feet immediately. She hugged him and rested her cheek on his back. “Don’t go, please don’t go.” She whispered. He turned and hugged her. “It will be fine.”

“No it won’t I pulled your name. I thought you were lying that you wouldn’t volunteer. I didn't think you would go through it."

He looked at her. He felt elated and so afraid. For the first time in twenty-four years somebody looked at him with love and fear. She had the same look Lana had when he was reaped.

"You can't look at me that way. You hear me." He said roughly and shook her arm.

She lifted her chin, "I can look at you however I please. You can't stop me."

He kissed her. That always worked. She pushed him back. "Sex won't distract me. You did something foolish Haymitch."

He laughed bitterly. "You reaped me. I did not force you to say Peeta's name."

She glared at him, "but you did. You made me feel guilty."

He yelled then. "You are guilty. Every year you and I sent two children to their death."

Effie paled and gasped. "I tried to get them sponsors. You, it was you who never gave them a chance."

Haymitch smirked, anger, blaming. He could deal with that. "You're always drunk..." She stopped abruptly. 

"I won't fall for your tricks anymore Haymitch. We are both equally guilty. You're trying to make me cross with you." She lifted her chin again. Effie looked up to him. He forgot how tiny she was. "I care for you. I really do and if something happens to you in the arena I, I..." She grabbed his hands. He looked into her eyes once more. His face was a mask, he schooled his features to not betray his many emotions. 

She got on her toes and touched his cheek. Haymicth pushed her away. “It’s late. I need to sleep.” He made for the door once more. Effie nodded. “Goodnight Haymitch.” She kissed him slowly; making sure all of her body was pressed against him. 

"I know you know Haymitch." She said despondently.

"Do not say it." If she said it, well that made it real. He was perfectly fine with their sexual relationship. It was the feelings he saw in her eyes what unsettled him. His voice was barely audible. She looked up to him once more. "I lo" he was on her immediately.

Haymitch kissed her breathless and kissed her again when she attempted to speak once more. His hands rove over her back. She moaned and bit his lip gently. They were a mass of tangles. He put her on the bed and distracted her until all Effie could mutter were strangled sounds and moans.

He closed his eyes; the man could feel Effie's nails scratch his scalp and her breath on his ear as he moved in and out of her. 

She made the faintest sounds. Haymitch opened his eyes and looked at her. It was the biggest mistake he could have made. There she was under him, looking so different. Effie grasped him and kissed him. He jerked inside of her and kissed her with the same fervor.

He felt the world explode around him. Haymitch liked to believe he was brutally honest. Sex never felt this good with anyone but Effie. They worked like a well-oiled machine when it came to this. That was the reason why he could not let Effie go. The only reason why.

Effie held him to her. “Stay here. I don’t want to argue.” She whispered while moving his hair back from his forehead. 

Haymitch nodded and kissed her forehead. Effie kissed him again, all over his face and neck, soothing him. He closed his eyes for a brief second. He intended to leave as soon as he recovered his breath. Effie was getting ideas, and that was not in their best interests.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and leaving kudos and comments :)

Unseeing eyes stared back at him. Peeta, Katniss, Mathew and his mother were all dead on the floor. He crouched to cradle Katniss. She held Peeta’s hand. The boy was black and blue from the bruises. He cried and held Katniss to him. He could hear his sobs. She was not supposed to die, Peeta was dead too. 

He sobbed loudly and tried for Peeta to wake up but the boy did not move. “They'll never wake up. It's your fault Haymitch. They're dead because of you. They died because you loved them." His mother said eerily and held Mathew's small hand. 

"They can't be dead. I played the games." He retorted desperately. 

"Oh Haymitch. You never knew how to play. You are not as clever as you make yourself to be." He heard the Capitol accent and turned to see Effie. She did not look like her. She looked more beautiful than ever. She wore a simple white dress and her hair was in a long braid. She looked like any other woman from district 12. He knew it was a dream then. Effie would never be caught wearing anything that simple.

He gulped. "I failed. The kids are dead. I want to wake up now."

She shook his head. "We're dead. You let us die." She gasped and blood spewed from her mouth, chest and belly. Effie collapsed.

"No, no, no, you're Capitol. You're fine. You have to be alive. You are Capitol." He tried to stop the blood flow and looked at his hand. He stared at his bloody hands. The man looked at her once more. Dead blue eyes stared back at him.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up." He closed his eyes and willed it all to be a dream; nothing but a nightmare. The kids and her had to be alive.

He startled awake. He sat up. It was still dark. The man stood up and turned on the lights. Effie was asleep on the bed. He looked at his hands. They were not bloody. He went by Effie's side and removed the sheet covering her. She wore his dark blue shirt. Effie moved and opened her eyes. "It was cold. You don't mind do you?" She asked sleepily. Haymitch shook his head. 

She must have realized he had a nightmare. She smiled. "Well, are you going to stay there watching me all night?" Once again he shook his head and went back to his side. It was mind-boggling; Effie slept through his nightmares. He was grateful when she turned and hugged him. He felt some of the tension leave his body.

She rained kisses down his neck. "We are going to watch all those films. I had to get a very expensive equipment to show it. Why you like all that tripe I don't know." She prattled.

He smirked and got her to say good morning properly. 

They watched two films only. Haymitch was more interested in getting her out of her robe once every two hours or so. They had sex, watched a couple of films. Effie remarked how much he looked like a guy from a very old movie called White Men Can't Jump. A ridiculous comparison if anyone asked him. They talked about things, much to his chagrin. She was smart, he had to give her that. They were eating strawberries and ice cream. "I have known you for decades and I don't know anything about you. Tell me something I don't know." 

Effie frowned when he rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll go first."

"I had a crush on you when you won your games." She said with a grin.

He smirked. "I knew that." She gasped. 

"Don't lie. You did not. No one knew." 

"Oh I did. I found a letter addressed to me. Young Effie was very smitten with one Mr. Haymitch Abernathy." He laughed when he saw her red face. She was mortified.

She covered her face with her hands. "Be quiet. You were very rude. That letter was not any of your business.

"You shouldn't leave things laying around and it was addressed to me.”

She glared at him. "I disclosed something. Now it's your turn." She used her proper voice; the one he used when lecturing the children about manners.

He smirked. "I already knew that bit of information. I believe it's your turn again sweetheart." 

He was sure she would pout and call off her little game. "Fine. I used to be more full figured."

It took him a while to process that information. "You mean you used to be fat."

She frowned. "That is not polite to say to a woman. I prefer the term full figured." She hit him on the arm. He couldn't catch his breath. It was not uncommon for Capitol women to be overweight but they usually surgically modified themselves. Effie had not done that. She was scared to death of needles and pain. It was why she hadn't dyed her skin fuchsia three years ago.

"Stop laughing." He wiped some tears. This was gold. 

"If you must know I struggled with my weight during my teenage years. I gained quite a bit of weight. When I was seventeen mother announced I would undergo surgery. I managed to convince her to give me a year. I ate less and exercised more. I lost all the weight." She said proudly.

Haymitch cocked his head to the side. "Did you want to lose the weight?"

Effie looked at him as if confused. "I never thought about it. I didn't really care but mother did. Once I lost my full figure mother enrolled me in a modeling agency. I became an escort a few years later.”

He saw as she bit a strawberry. He then recalled all the times Effie left her plate half full. He remembered all the times she refused the sweets and chocolates he offered.

"Did you want to be an escort?" She laughed. "I gave too much information. It's your turn." Effie hadn't forgotten.

He thought about something harmless. "I used to raise geese when I was little. My mom would sell them to the baker. Peeta's granddad; he used to give me chocolate chip cookies."

Effie smiled. "I like to read old books." Haymitch smiled back when she got closer to him.

They spent most of the afternoon talking about their childhood. She was some sort of witch. He remembered all the happy times before the reaping. He even told her about the forest in 12. He told her about going there and watching the birds sing. Haymitch laughed when she told him about her disappointment when she discovered she was allergic to cats.

Soon night was upon them. It was the countdown hours before she had to retrieve Peeta. He kissed her more than he should have. He wanted to memorize her taste just in case he did not make it out of the arena. He made sure she remembered him like this and not like the drunk who insulted her any chance he got.

She leaned into every kiss and caress, ad if reading his mind. He could see her closed eyes as he thrust slowly inside of her. He could feel her hands moving over his back, rubbing, caressing his back. Effie was more passionate than usual. They were used to the forceful release. Angry sex as she labeled it, this wasn't it. He kissed the side of her neck, her breasts. He held her as she rocked her hips to meet his thrusts. He nuzzled her collarbones and came tortuously. She tightened her hold and kissed him gently. She kissed him as if she would her husband. Haymitch felt the gut instinct to move away. Get up, run far his mind said but once he looked into her eyes he was rooted in his spot. It was so very sweet. He understood and for about five seconds had the most clarity in his life. Effie loved him. She loved him. He did not need to hurt her. He wouldn't hurt her, not tonight. 

Effie kept kissing her and he kissed her back. That was his mistake. He did not care that she would hurt eventually. All he cared about was the attention Effie bestowed upon him. All he wanted at that time was for Effie to keep looking at him like that.

He moved to the side and held her to his chest. He kissed the top of her head. She kissed his chest and traced the scar on his stomach; the one he got in his last games. 

"I remember thinking you would surely die. I was shocked when the force field bounced the hatchet back and that career girl died." She said tentatively. She knew him more than she led on. He avoided all mention of his games.

"The mere idea that something like that could happen again scares me more than I care to admit." There was a big silence.

He thought she had fallen asleep. He was almost asleep when she spoke again. "Haymitch, you can't die."

He remained silent. He was sure Effie wanted some sort of assurance. The old victor could not do so. Plutarch had a plan. Haymitch was aware of it to some extent. He had asked the game maker to hold Effie and Peeta within his reach lest one of them fell in Capitol custody. It was his one petition. The deal was to get Katniss rescued. The Mockingjay had to live and make it to district 13.

She gave up because the next thing he knew the woman was nuzzling his chest and falling asleep. Fortunately he did not dream. He woke up again with kisses on his nose and face. Effie was above him. He saw her clear blue eyes. "I could have killed you." 

She shook her head and kept tracing his features. 

"What are you doing Princess?" He rasped.

"Portia and her team will be here in half an hour. I will get Peeta in fifteen minutes."

He frowned. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

She shook her head, "you looked so peaceful. I know you can't sleep through the night." She kissed his nose and traced his lips.

"Has anyone told you? You have beautiful grey eyes." She traced his nose and eybrows.

He rolled his eyes. "Come on Princess." He tried to lift her. Effie stood her ground.

"You have to promise me something first." She said seriously.

Haymitch knew where this conversation was going and he did not like it at all. "For the last time Trinket, I cannot promise you I will live. I can promise you I will keep Katniss alive.” 

She looked at him directly in the eyes. "I don't want Katniss to die. You have a plan. I want you both alive. I want you to promise me to try and live."

"I need you to promise me you will do your best to be alive." She said in a raw voice.

“What are you asking Effie?” He tiredly asked, he was sick of explaining things to her. 

Effie kissed him slowly, “Promise me you will play in the games. That you’ll actually try and not die.”

He puzzled it out. “You are asking me to kill my friends.” He said slowly. 

Effie looked at him with determined eyes. “They are not you. The only person I care about is you. I need you alive Haymitch. Joanna isn’t you. Chaff isn’t you. Finnick isn’t you. I like them but I choose you. I want you alive.”

“I’ll try Effie.” She kissed him slowly and hugged him. “Please be careful. Peeta and I will make sure you and Katniss have all you need but please Haymitch." She sounded terribly scared. "Try."

He nodded, finally surrendering to her badgering. "Say it." She demanded.

"I'll try." He whispered and tucked a loose hair strand back into one of her braids. 

Effie stood up. "I have to get ready for today. I need to find Peeta. He should be with Katniss. She avoided looking at him. Haymitch stood up. He recognized that this was the last time he would see her before going to the arena. "He hugged her. It was the first time he sought intimate contact with her. He'd always been drunk or he wanted sex out of her. He just wanted to hold her, retain the feel of her in his arms and smell her hair before she put on her clown costume. 

He did so. She held him tight and her voice broke but she didn't cry. "Remember your promises."

He smirked, "which ones?"

She held his face tenderly. "To keep our kids safe and to come back. Kill them all if you have to but come back. I want you and Katniss back. We are a team."

He frowned. "I can't kill my friends."

She frowned. "They will not hesitate Haymitch. They will kill you. You have to live." She kissed him. He nodded but hoped it wouldn't come to killing any of the victors he already knew for so many years.

Effie kissed and held him for as long as she could. Suddenly it was time for her to go. "I'm late. I have to fetch Peeta and you have to get ready. Portia will be here any second now." She went to the small table. She came close to him once again. "Don't forget to wear your bangle." She put it on him. Effie did not look to him.

He kissed her, "don't go yet." He whispered into her hair. She sobbed then. She made small noises, barely audible. "Don't die." They kissed one last time. He watched as she wiped wayward tears and left the room without looking at him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy reading guys :)

Effie was correct. Portia and her team burst in as soon as she left. 

"We have got to get you ready and into the preparation center." Portia tutted and bustled around him. Ultimately Portia was instructed to prepare him when they reached the fitness center. 

"Why? I have always prepared the victors in their penthouses." The peacekeeper merely nudged her to the door. Haymitch followed the prep team. They shaved all of him and trimmed his hair once again. They dressed him with the regular Hunger Games apparel. Portia did not look him in the eyes twice. He would have preferred Effie were here with him. She tried to take his bangle away. "This stays." He hissed. The stylist smiled a little.

Soon a doctor implanted the tracker in his arm. He saw as the man rolled his sleeves up. The Mockingjay watch was unmistakable. "All set." The older man smiled.

"I am not a man to bet but I have good money on you Mr. Abernathy."

Haymitch nodded gruffly. "Will you see Katniss as well?"

The peacekeeper was oblivious to the conversation. "I'm afraid not. President Snow requested a special team to be with her and her prep team."

Cinna, they were going to arrest him for the dress. Once again he thought of Effie. She should be safely ensconced wherever Plutarch decided to hide her. Peeta would be with her as well.

The peacekeeper hurried the doctor along. He saw as a group of peacekeepers dragged Portia away. She was calm however; "there must be a mistake. My uncle is the head for the peacekeepers in the Capitol. He will hear about your treatment." The woman said haughtily.

Haymitch hoped Portia's boasted connections were truthful. "Get in there." Another peacekeeper shoved him inside the contraption that would serve as his podium.

He clenched his fists. Plutarch refused to give him any information on the arena. He knew only to not trust districts 1 and 2.

The sun blinded him for about two seconds. He saw water all around him. The other tributes were in their podiums too. Katniss was on the other side; she seemed agitated. 

The man heard Claudius Templesmith speak. "Let the Second Quater Quell Hunger Games begin. May the odds be ever in your favor."

He watched the countdown and got ready. He needed to find Finnick, Joanna, Chaff and Beetee. Those were their strongest allies. 

He swam to the cornucopia. The irony wasn't lost on him. He advised all of his tributes to stay away from it and there he was swimming to it. 

It was the male tribute from district 9. The man attacked him and tried to drown him. Haymitch struggled but ultimately overpowered the man. He saw Katniss ready to kill Finnick with her bow.

"Not yet Sweetheart. We're still allies." She frowned but helped him to the cornucopia. She looked toward the other side of the cornucopia. Districts 1 and 2 on the other side. 

"Let's walk." Haymitch said as they made their way to the jungle like part of the arena. Finnick carried Mags on his back. Katniss pulled him aside. "They have Cinna. They beat him up.”

The news did not take him by surprise. He expected it since he dressed the girl as the Mockingjay. “He’s a grown man Katniss. We can’t do anything for him now. He is beyond any help now.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong.” Katniss defended irrationally.

Haymitch had to laugh at that comment. “Think back to our conversation during the Victory Tour. It is too late now, for us and for him.” She looked at Finnick with distrust. “I don't like him." She hissed.

Haymitch was hot and tired from the water wrestling he did earlier. He was not as young as Finnick and Katniss. "Sweetheart, you have better remember who the real enemy is." He hissed back.

The girl frowned. "Don't pout. Your face looks ugly. You want to be beautiful, heroic." He grumbled and grabbed a machete from her goodie bag. 

He walked ahead with Finnick and Mags "Seeder is dead. She went down along with the woman from district 10." The young man muttered.

"We need to find Beetee and Wiress." Haymitch said as he hacked plants and leaves. 

"Sweetheart, keep up." Katniss glared but trailed along. 

It was getting hotter and they were all dehydrated. They sat for an hour or so. They heard cannons go off. Finnick said something nasty and Katniss was her charming self.

"We need them. Stop your bickering and behave." Haymitch scolded her.

"I like Mags but I don't trust him. We have got to go. They are slowing us down." She said.

"I promised Peeta to keep you safe. This is the only way sweetheart. I know these victors, trust me." 

Katniss frowned but did not leave his side for the remainder of the hour.

He hacked at a branch when he felt the pain in hand. There was an explosion and he was thrown to the side.

"Fucking hells." He saw as Katniss rushed. "Are you ok?" She looked scared. He nodded. 

"Force field. We have got to be careful." Finnick helped him up. Haymitch cursed him and saw the burnt skin of his arm. Mags grabbed leaves and chewed them. She placed them in the damaged skin.

He was grateful for the cooling sensation. They walked ahead, always searching for water. It was plainly clear that Mags could not go on, even if Finnick carried her. The older woman was spent. Katniss muttered something.

They set camp. "I'll take the first watch." Finnick said. 

Haymitch placed and arm on Katniss shoulder. "Let him. You're pregnant; best remember that. You'll be the next to hold guard." She must have been as tired and thirsty as he was. None of them could sleep but for Mags who was beyond exhausted.

The package flew to Katniss. Peeta must have found sponsors. Good boy he though. He saw as the girl stuck something into a tree. She drank from a spile. He stood up and drank too. 

"There's something else." The girl said with a smile. It was his old knife. “Remember.” Effie was well. Ever since Portia was dragged out the center he had been thinking about Effie and whether she reached Plutarch’s quarters in time. She had to have had other wise he wouldn’t be clutching his old knife and reading that simple note. 

“What should you remember? Why would Peeta send you that note?” Katniss asked once she had her fill of water. 

Haymitch drank some more water and let Finnick wake Mags to drink the water next. He looked at the girl and answered. “I promised to keep you alive.”

He saw her struggle for words. “Get some sleep we’ll need to move early in the morning.”

Surprisingly she chose a tree and closed her eyes. Haymitch stayed not far away from her. He needed to sleep too. 

Finnick took the first watch true to his word. It was Katniss’s pained yelled that woke him up. For a second he thought it was his mind playing tricks and he was just having another of his nightmares and then she was there with her reddened hand screaming. “The fog. Come on we have to run.” He looked back and saw a thick greying fog advancing toward the. Finnick carried Mags and they ran away from it. 

It stung him and made him twitch with pain. He grabbed Katniss who’d fallen too; parts of her body were covered with the painful pustules. “Sweetheart. Get up.” She was twitching with pain. He carried her over his shoulders as Finnick carried Mags and made five or six meters but then he felt it in his back. He dropped Katniss and dragged her. The poisonous fog would soon consume them. He saw Mags get down and give herself to the fog. 

“Mags. Mags don’t.” Finnick yelled. 

“Finnick we have to go. Help me carry her.” They stumbled once or twice. The fog was thicker and embraced them. Finnick pushed them and he did the same until they rolled down. 

Katniss was awake and saw the fog dissipate before it completely reached them. Haymitch couldn’t think straight. The pain was overwhelming, worse than anything he’d experienced in his life. “The water helps. He saw as Katniss slithered into salt water. She yelled in agony but the pustules diminished. He did the same as did Finnick. 

It was pain and relief of the most visceral kind. After rinsing the worst affected areas a small parachute went to him. Peeta and Effie were surely doing their best. It was cream for their burns and pustules. 

They recovered their breaths. Katniss apologized to Finnick. The boy looked resigned, “She was never going to make it.”

He heard two cannons go off again. Cecelia, Chaff and Mags were gone. He applied the cream and gave more to his companions. 

It must not have been more than an hour when suddenly he saw them ugly monkeys looking at him face front. “Haymitch, get back slowly.” Katniss cautioned. Finnick grasped for his trident. All hell broke loose. He drove his knife deep into a few of the mutations. They ran. “Get to the beach.” He heard Katniss say. He stabbed another monkey. They were closing on him when he saw her Haymitch grabbed her and ran to the beach. 

It was Marilyn, from District 6. He was at the beach and remembered the first time he met her. She was fifteen and had won her games. She shook like a leaf. “Look Marilyn. It’s dawn.” She died in his arms. 

“She sacrificed herself for you. Why would she do that? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Haymitch looked up to Katniss tired but puzzled eyes. “She was my friend.” Haymitch said simply. He did not know Marilyn much but she had been one of the first tributes to agree to the alliances. 

Finnick busily captured food for them. They ate raw fish and slept for a while. Haymitch took the first watch that time. 

"I didn't know her name." Katniss whispered as they stepped back from the beach. They saw the hovercraft picked her body from the waters.

Once more Haymitch felt incredible rage. Snow and the Capitol. They did this. They drove Marylyn to morphling. They killed Cecelia, a mother of three. Seeder was gone too as was Chaff. They killed Mags who should have been in her bed with grandchildren around her. Instead she died a painful death.

He grabbed a spear from Katniss's bag. He went by Finnick and started stabbing the water.

Katniss wisely stayed back on the shore. Finnick. "It isn't supposed to be this way Haymitch."

The older man nodded. "Soon." He said with some conviction he did not feel.

They ate and for the first time. He rested properly. They took turns in the watch. By the second time they ate. Katniss announced the arena was a dome. Haymitch decided to not point out how obvious that was. She was warming up to Finnick just now.

They saw the lightening and saw the waves crash against force fields.

"Someone is out here." The girl had her now ready and trained against the approaching figures. "Finnick. Haymitch." Joanna yelled. The boy ran to meet his friend. 

"Looks like we have more allies now sweetheart." He said and was happy to walk to Joanna, Wiress and Beetee. 

The girl from seven recounted the blood rain. Blight was dead. "Tic toc, tic toc, tic toc." Wiress told him repeatedly.

Joanna and Beetee were rinsing the blood off. "What happened to her?"

"She's in shock." Beetee offered unhelpfully to his appreciation.

She approached Joanna "Tic toc, tic toc, tic toc." The girl pushed her. Of course Katniss jumped in. Finnick grabbed Joanna and he pushed Katniss back. "Behave." He growled and grabbed her forcefully. 

"Come on. Let's get you washed up." She helped Wiress to the water.

He sat by Beetee who had some sort of wire. "Soon." The man said. "Soon." Haymitch responded.

"It's a clock." Katniss said victoriously and dragged Wiress out of the water. "This arena is set up as a clock. Wiress, tic toc. Something has happened every hour. The fog, the blood rain, the monkeys, the waves." Haymitch could have kissed Wiress and Katniss.

"So as long as we stay on the cornucopia we're relatively safe then." Finnick pointed out as district 1's male tribute stabbed Wiress to death. Katniss killed him. He saw as someone tried to stab him. The man had hoped it wouldn't come to this but he had no other choice. He grabbed his old knife and fought the tributes off. The cornucopia spun then. He grabbed onto a rocky piece and held on. He saw when Katniss tripped and went down. The girl held on and thankfully Joanna held her. He looked up and tried to find a better position but it was impossible to while everything spun. He looked back and saw Joanna’s empty hands. Fear gripped him. 

“Katniss.” He yelled. The world stopped spinning in what felt like years. He stood up and found the girl catching her breath. 

“Are you ok?” He ran to her and checked her over. She nodded and hugged him. Haymitch remembered the cameras. “The baby. How do you feel?” He said and touched her belly. 

She hugged him harder. “I don’t know if the baby is fine Haymitch.” She had finally learned. “Good girl.” He whispered. 

“We have to get the shore the next wave will come soon.” Beetee warned them. Haymitch held Katniss until they were in the sand. As much as he wanted to think that it was to attract more sponsors he knew he held her was because he cared for Katniss and he had been scared to see her dead body picked up by a hovercraft. 

“I have a plan. I have a plan.” Beetee said with some glee in his voice. 

Haymitch was the first one to fully understand the plan and agreed to it before Joanna and invariably Katniss found a fault in the plan. 

“All you have to do is keep alive for the next six hours.” The man said promptly. 

They were all exhausted and decided to rest for at least the remainder of the hour. Haymitch sat down by a rock. He stared at the sky and thought about the Bettee’s plan. It had to be soon. Plutarch was getting fucking close to killing all of them. 

“Katniss help.” She was on her feet before he could reach her. “Katniss wait.” Finnick ran after her. Haymitch waited three or five seconds before going after them. 

He could hear prim’s tortured voice, the miner boy, and then someone else’s voice. “Annie.” Finnick yelled panicked. 

Haymitch caught up to them. “They’re just birds. Jabberjays.” She sounded relieved. 

“Jabberjays imitate sounds.” The boy said and then a whole round of birds attacked them. Katniss tried to get them with her arrows but it was useless they ran when the birds became a flock. Haymitch could hear pained voices. They attacked her and Finnick. They ran back toward the beach now that the birds flocked them. Katniss cried and the boy was pale. They finally saw Beetee and Joanna. Katniss ran the fastest and collided with an invisible wall. 

Katniss screamed and tried to claw at the wall but it was hopeless. She turned and looked at him. “They’re not real.” He could barely hear himself over Mrs. Everdeen’s screams of pain and Peeta’s tortured sounds. His heart tugged at the sound of the boy. 

Katniss hugged him. “How do you know?” She cried pitifully. 

He was about to answer when she heard her. “Haymitch.” He looked up to see the birds. Suddenly all of them were echoing the same voice. “Haymitch” It was high pitched and pained. “No, she’s Capitol.”

“Shoot them now.” He yelled at the girl, his eyes searching for a sign of her. Katniss tried but soon there were a mix of voices, Mrs. Everdeen, the Hawthorne boy, Primrose. Annie Cresta, Peeta and her.

Finnick was the first to give up. He sat down and covered his ears with his hands. Katniss let out screams and cried. Haymitch looked up at the sky and heard her over and over. Haymitch could hear her plead to stop. “It’s not real. It’s not real.” He repeated; it became a mantra until he heard her tortured screams. “You promised Haymitch. You said we would be safe. You promised.” She cried.

His heart pumped faster than ever before and dread settled in his belly. He crumbled to the floor and cried. “Haymitch. They’re hurting me. You promised. Help me.” His body shook with silent tears, his hair obscured most of his face. They had her. The voice was real. No one knew about the promise. They had Effie and were torturing her. 

Katniss was hoarse from all the screaming she did. He went to her and grabbed her bow. He shot three birds and then there were no more arrows. He slumped down once more and covered his ears as Finnick was doing. “Haymitch. Help me.” She cried, begged, and reminded him of his promises; with each passing tortured sound he grew restless. They had her; the Capitol had her and Peeta. He had to get Katniss and him out. Plutarch would have to explain how they found Effie. He needed to get to her. 

The hour went slowly at some point Katniss went to him. He held her. She cried pitifully, he covered her ears and rocked them both. “It’ll be over soon. It’ll be over soon.”

He heard Joanna. “The hour is up.” She went to Finnick who shook her away. Beetee was by a tree. “The Capitol loves Peeta and your sister. Snow would never hurt them.”

Katniss seemed more hopeful after that comment. Haymitch knew better. Snow would not hesitate to kill them all if that meant he could break her. Joanna ranted about their lack of ability to hurt her since she had no one left she cared about. 

Haymitch remained quiet and accepted some water Beetee gave him. He kept thinking about how to speed things along. They needed to kill Enobaria and Brutus as soon as possible. Once the careers were gone. Beetee could explode this damn arena and they would go from there. 

“Trinket.” She let out one of her derisive laughs. “I would have never thought.” He was on his feet in less than ten seconds. He pushed her to a tree and had a knife to her throat before she could get her axe. “Think before you speak.” He saw her scared eyes and let her go immediately. 

He walked away and placed his knife back. He grabbed Beetee. “Walk with me.” He growled. 

“How fast can you get your plan started?” He barked. 

“At dusk.” He said and grabbed his hand. “The voices were not real. They don’t have any of them.” 

Haymitch shook his head. “I need you to speed the process. You have to do it before dusk. I don’t give a fuck who’s ready and who’s not.”

Beettee fought him tooth and nail but Haymitch was more persistent and persuasive than anyone gave him credit for. Beettee agreed to set things an hour earlier. 

Haymitch saw as Finnick fished by the shore. He sat down and tried to stop his idle mind from conjuring images of a tortured Effie. Joanna had a point, Peeta was the golden boy of the Capital they wouldn’t touch him but Effie was fair game. Was it possible that Heavensbee had betrayed them? 

He felt Katniss next to him. “I think we should go.” She said openly. Haymitch did not answer. “Not yet. We’ll stay with them until after Beetee’s plan.” He said with a determined tone. 

“You and I know that there is only one of us leaving the arena alive. I don’t want to be the first to shoot.” She said in a resigned manner. 

“You will not.” He said.

She wanted to speak about Effie he was certain but Katniss like him did not particularly speak about feelings. 

True to their word the victors protected Beetee until his plan could be carried about. When the time came 

Beetee managed to finish his work minutes before midnight. The victors walked to the three where the lighting was supposed to hit. In a few minutes it would all happen. Beetee gave Joanna and Katniss the cool. "Make sure all the coil is on the water."

"We'll sure do that." Haymitch said and advanced to the girl. "You're staying with me. I need two protectors." Beetee said behind his glasses.

"Haymitch and I will go then. Joanna can stay." Katniss stated with a distrustful tone.

"It’s his plan. We all agreed to it." Joanna said.

"Is there a problem?" Finnick asked forcefully.

Beetee echoed the tone and question. "Not at all." Haymitch understood then. They did not trust him. They wanted assurance they would get in the hovercraft too.

Haymitch pulled Katniss. She did not want to leave him. "Sweetheart, listen to me. You have to trust me. Go with Joanna."

She shook her head and looked to the floor like a defiant child. He lifted her head and touched her chin. "We'll see each other at midnight. Stay alive." He winked and smiled. Katniss hugged him hard.

"We don't have time to waste." Beetee gave Katniss the coil.

As soon as the girls left Beetee grabbed a knife. "Get the trackers out now." Finnick took Beetee's and then his. The boy approached him. "Where's yours?"

"Disappeared after the jabberjays. What do we do now?" He asked Beetee.

They heard Katniss's yell. Haymitch was on the move immediately. "Joanna, Katniss." Him and Finnick shouted.

He ran and looked for the girl. He heard a cannon in the other direction. He ran back and found Enobaria. He pulled his knife and fought the woman. She gave no ground and wanted to get closer to him. He pushed her away. She might have the teeth but he was stronger than her. He managed to trip her and knock her to the ground. He pulled his knife however before he could slit her throat lightening struck."Katniss." He yelled and ran to the tree. He didn't get too far. He saw as the arena exploded. 

He felt the ground shake and fell to the side. He hit the back of his head and then there was a bright light and he felt as they lifted him up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Enjoy :)

Chapter 6

Haymitch was immediately aware of the pain in his head and the likely possibility that Katniss was dead. He tried to struggle when peacekeepers pulled him inside the hovercraft. "We have to go now. Pull Katniss now." Plutarch bellowed. He was not in Capitol custody then. 

He saw as they pulled Katniss. She was unconscious. "Get a doctor." Haymitch yelled at a young man. He walked behind them until they reached the infirmary.

"You're bleeding." He realized Finnick was there too. Not far from him was Beetee, who seemed in worse shape than any of them.

He ignored the boy and looked as the doctors treated Katniss. "She will be fine. Let her body rest. She will wake up soon."

Haymitch did not let the doctor check him. This was the same doctor who implanted the tracker on his arm. The victor grabbed the doctor's wrist and tightened his hold "Where is Heavensbee?"

"In the command room.” He answered.

“Take me there now." He had a lot of questions. Haymitch wanted to see Peeta and Effie, make sure they were fine.

"You're bleeding. Let me take a look at your head and then I'll personally get you to Plutarch." Haymitch stood up and felt dizzy.

He grabbed him by the collar. "We are going now and you'll patch me up later." The man nodded. The walk from the infirmary to the command room was short.

Plutarch had a screen in front of him. A severe looking woman stared at him from the screen. "You must be Haymitch Abernathy." 

He ignored her and looked at Plutarch. "Where are they?" The game maker shook his head.

"They didn't make it out of the building" he felt the ground shake.

"Where are they?" He asked Plutarch with barely concealed desperation.

"They were arrested. We managed to get some of Katniss's prep team." Haymitch saw red; with the little strength he had left he punched Plutarch. "I told you to keep them with you, you sick fuck. They were supposed to be with you. Safe, in your fucking quarters." He tried to punch him again but two men held him back.

"We have the Mockingjay." Plutarch said while wiping blood out of his mouth.

"You might as well have nothing. Katniss will not be your fucking symbol until Peeta and Effie are here.

Plutarch was confused. "Who is Effie?" It was the wrong thing to say.

Haymitch growled dangerously. "You get them back or I swear Katniss and I go back to the Capitol..." He did not finish. "She's awake."

Haymitch went back to the medical bay. "Peeta, where is he?" She looked at him and ran to him. She hugged him. "Where are we? Where's Peeta?"

"He was arrested sweetheart. We are going to 13." He expected the blows, even welcomed them. "You son of a bitch! You promised. You promised to protect him." She scratched his face and kicked him. "You lied, you liar." She was in hysterics by now. The doctor injected her. 

"She'll be sedated until we get to 13." Plutarch answered unnecessarily. "Do we have to do the same for you Haymitch?" The victor heard the threat. 

"No." He said and let the doctor sew his head wound. 

They reached 13 an hour later. It was all chaos. "They burned district 12." A big woman said. Haymitch felt his insides turn to lead. Katniss's whole family; Primrose... 

"The survivors are inside already." He hurried to the bunker like structure. There were perhaps a hundred people. Seam and town together, he saw Greasy Sae, wheezing and holding onto a small child. The old woman would probably survive them all. He saw a young blond and plump woman, crying, asking if anyone had seen her parents. He scanned the room once more and found them. Mrs. Everdeen, the little girl and the Hawthorne boy. He saw Hazelle and the rest of the Hawthorne children. Mrs. Everdeen approached him. “Katniss.” 

“Is fine. She’s been sedated.” Mrs. Everdeen nodded and held onto Prim. “How did you escape?”

“It was all Gale. He saw the hovercrafts and led us to the woods.” Prim said with big baby blue eyes. Blue eyes, he shook his head. Peeta and Effie had blue eyes. 

“Mr. Abernathy. You are required to come with me now.” Another man said and tapped his arm. 

“I have to go.” He followed him to a room filled with computers and screens. There he saw two women Plutarch and his assistant. 

“You mean to tell me you saved her and left Effie and Peeta back in the fucking Capitol. You sick fuck.” He tried to hurt Plutarch once more but he was slow and there were two powerful men by his sides. They held him back. 

“Welcome to District 13 Mr. Abernathy. President Alma Coin.” The older woman stretched her hand. 

Haymitch was not completely stupid. He shook her hand. They all seemed to know him. He was introduced to vice president Paylor, Cressida; the woman who would film and help Katniss become the symbol of the revolution. 

“We have great plans for the Mockingjay.” Coin said without a hint of smile.

Vice president Paylor took the lead then. “You must be exhausted. It is best if you retired to your quarters.”

The man shook his head and sat where Coin motioned. “What are you planning to do?” 

Coin was an astute woman. “We have the Mockingjay, Mr. Odair, Mr. Latier and you. We plan to show their victors as ours. We’ll overthrow the Capitol.”

Haymitch saw his chance. “She will not play along until you get Peeta back.”

“They have Ms. Mason and Ms. Cresta too.” The assistant said. Fulvia was her name. 

“Finnick is in love with Annie. No way in hell. He will cooperate with you until you get the girl back to him.”

“They might as well be dead.” President Coin stated with her matter of fact voice that was quickly irritating him. 

Plutarch seemed to have the need to clarify. “They have been under President Snow’s custody since the incident with the jabberjays.” 

“That wasn’t real.” Haymitch looked directly at Plutarch.

“He came to the gamemaker’s room with the idea of the jabberjays. That night I learned Annie and Peeta were taken.” The ex head gamemaker explained. 

It was real. They tortured her; they had her and Peeta. He heard her name and looked up to Plutarch. “President Snow mentioned Effie had been executed in front of Peeta to teach him a lesson. He prided himself in having total control of Peeta. He planned to kill Katniss even if she won the quarter quell.”

Haymitch did not hear past executed. He saw her smiling at him, laughing when he kissed her neck, scratching her with his whiskers. “She can’t be dead.” He refused to acknowledge the idea and used the last of his strength to do one last thing. He looked at Coin in the eye. “I will make sure Katniss listens to you and becomes your symbol but you get me Effie and Peeta back. I don’t care what you do. Who you send but I want them here with me. 

“They are dead.” Coin said with finality. 

He reacted one last time. Haymitch still had his knife. He was slower than usual but driven to kill. He had Plutarch in his sights. It was his fault, he made him think they could do this and now he didn’t have Peeta, he didn’t have her. Effie was dead. Haymitch overthrew the small table, kicked the soldier next to him and lunged for Plutarch. He withdrew the knife. 

He felt the needle then. “Take him to medical bay. He’s in shock.” He heard someone say.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas. Due to the fact that I am Hispanic my family celebrates tonight (Dec 24th). We stay up until 12 eat Christmas dinner and then open gifts after midnight. Here is your present enjoy ☺.

He needed a drink. He needed one badly. If he tried hard enough he could picture a single glass of molten scotch. Haymitch could taste the liquid; he pretended the water he drank was scotch. He shook his head and looked at the schedule on his arm. He was due for a meeting in the command room. He wore the grey uniform he had been given and the beanie hat. He felt cold most of the time.

It had taken him weeks to finally get inside the meetings. Katniss ignored him most of the time but he had listened to one advice he gave her. "Play nice sweetheart. Do as they tell you and you might yet see the boy."

Peeta was alive. It was why Haymitch had not entirely given up. His hands shook from time to time but Coin nor anyone else think alcohol would help him, how little did they know. It had been about three weeks since Plutarch rescued them. Haymitch had not apologized or spoken to him other than to instruct him how to handle Katniss but that was soon coming to an end. 

The Capitol sent footage of both Peeta and Joanna. They were alive, the boy begged Katniss to surrender. Seeing Peeta brought a sense of control out of him. Katniss finally agreed to film the propos and be of any service only if Coin rescued Peeta. Finnick had begged him for Annie and Joanna. Haymitch then talked to commander Paylor. "You need all your victors. Rescue Peeta, Annie and Joanna." It took a while to convince her but she accepted.

That happened a week ago. President Coin put the girl to work immediately. Cressida was unhappy with the initial propos and so was Plutarch. Katniss was furious and unwilling she wanted Peeta with her and was vocal about it. "I can't." Even her prep team grew frustrated with her. They finally called him to talk to her. Plutarch dressed her in a long black dress and wanted a fierce woman. The Mockingjay. His girl was so uncomfortable, out of place.

"Get her out of that dress. Give her a uniform and her pin." He said. The prep team looked at Plutarch who assented

This was his job today. She was to be filmed in district 12's woods. Haymitch wondered who chose the location for the propos. This was the Meadow, most Seam children played there at some point or another. Katniss wore Cinna's warrior Mockingjay uniform. She looked as uncomfortable and plastic as whenever she had to be prompted to do any of these stunts. He could tell it wouldn't be easy for her to do the damn propo. Plutarch signaled for Cressida to stop rolling. Haymitch shook his head.

"Can you hear me?" 

He ignored the people in the room who assured him she could. "Sweetheart, can you hear me?" He used the same voice he used when she was attacked by the jabberjays. She nodded. He couldn't see Plutarch smirking or Coin's calculating stare. "I used to play here with my brother." He said softly, somehow forgetting he wasn't supposed to speak about Mathew. 

"I played with Prim too. I hid under a honeysuckle bush." She walked to the bush. Haymitch laughed softly. He could picture her, a little girl hiding from her mother.

Mockingbirds flew out of the biggest trees. She got a frightened look in her face. She must have remembered the jabberjays, she could go into terror mode any second. 

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow" He started with a raspy voice. He sang softly, carefully as if not to scare her. She trembled and he stopped.

"Why did you stop?" She asked puzzled.

"A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes  
And when again they open, the sun will rise." He sang gently, remembering mom, Mathew and Effie.

Katniss looked above and then to the meadow. They sang together, she had a beautiful voice. 

"Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you."

He didn't feel the stares. He did not see Plutarch giving the order for Cressida to film. The old victor saw the girl and thought of Effie only. She was gone because of him. All he could think was that she would have loved the meadow during spring. She loved flowers even if she said she liked jewels better. He remembered the first time she smiled at him; a genuine smile. She always said Katniss and him were too alike. They mourned together. They sang for all they had lost. The girl lost her innocence a long time ago but now she had nothing. The place they called home for so many years was gone. They mourned Peeta and Effie; only Peeta was still alive. Effie was gone

"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray  
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away."

The mockingjays echoed the melodies. He sang, forgetting everything and remembering Effie only. It had been years since he sang.

"Here it's safe and here it's warm  
And here the daisies guard you from every harm  
And here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you." They finished together.

"I miss them." She said brokenly. 

He remained quiet. They heard Cressida ask Katniss some questions about district 12. They did not record the message. Katniss was stiff and unbelievable in her role as the Mockingjay. She was so forced, so helpless in her role as the face of the rebellion. 

"This is not the girl you promised me." Alma Coin complained. “The deal is off. The districts will not rally behind us. She is nothing but a little girl. 

"Put her in the field." He turned to see their faces. Haymitch was sure Katniss would do better in the field. She worked best when she improvised. 

"She's not ready." Plutarch said quickly.

"The games almost destroyed her. She can't be active part of the rebellion. I will not risk her.” Coin stated.

“I’m not asking you to send her to war zones. Send her to a safe place, outside of 12 and 13.”

“District 8.” Beetee offered. “There was a bombing yesterday night. Send her to the hospital. It is very unlikely the Capitol will bomb again. District 8 has no military power anymore.”

Haymitch could feel Plutarch approving. “Fine, but if this does not work she will come back and we’ll find someone else to be our face and get the districts together.” 

“You will never find someone better.” The old victor muttered and left the command room. 

Coin refused to let him accompany her. “She will have an earpiece. You will speak to her if necessary otherwise you stay here with us in this room.” The madam president Coin did not trust him to not escape with the mockingjay. Haymitch had not made a big fuss. Boggs, the Hawthorne boy and the whole filming crew went with the girl. 

The visit to the hospital was a success up until the radars picked up the hovercrafts. Beetee said loudly. “They are aiming for the hospital.” 

“Take cover now.” He said through the earpiece. Katniss and the Hawthorne boy separated from Boggs and the rest of the team. 

He had his heart on his throat until she ducked and took cover with the rest of the team. As Beetee announced the hospital was bombed and burned to the ground. Katniss was finally able to articulate the damn propos. 

Coin and Plutarch were satisfied with the end results. He took a little bow and left the room. Let them remember who came up with the idea of Katniss being on the field. 

For the next couple of months all district 13 could talk about was the Mockingjay and her message to president Snow. 

Katniss avoided him more than ever. She refused to look him in the eye and glared at him whenever he crossed her path. He had not talked to her yet, not outside the earpiece and she hardly ever answered back to him. 

He was utterly surprised when she knocked on his door. He couldn’t sleep more than an hour each night. It was a miracle he was not dead yet, Mrs. Everdeen explained that it did not matter if he didn’t sleep because the food they served him was tailored to him so his body could be rested and well nourished. 

“Snow is torturing him. He looks weaker, paler, Peeta will not live and I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do. How do I stop this?” She yelled angrily. 

Haymitch sat on the bed. “You don’t realize how powerful you are do you?” Haymitch grew frustrated too. The damn restrictions and the puppetry, the fact that he had a fucking schedule attached to his arm did not help either. 

“I have done everything she’s asked of me. I’ve filmed two propos and there’s still not a plan to save them.” She paced in front of him. 

He looked at her and did something that could break them. “Stop then.” 

“What?” She asked confused. 

“Refuse her. Don’t film a damn propo. Let them find another Mockingjay.”

“I can’t what about the people. District 7 just rebelled. People died because of me, because I sang the Hanging Tree.”

He laughed, “don’t be so presumptuous sweetheart. Those men and women died because they wanted to have freedom at last. You are a push, the push those men and women needed. That is why they desperately need you to unite them and push them into action, you have done beautifully.”

Katniss looked at him. “All I wanted was for Peeta to live and you betrayed me.” She spat once more. She looked at him with fury. 

“I volunteered to save him. He was supposed to be rescued…”

“With Effie.” She said and looked at him. “We saw you in your room.”  
He feigned puzzlement. 

Katniss glared at him. “Peeta wanted to make sure you would protect me in the arena. You were cuddling and she kissed your chin. I thought nothing of it and wanted to get in the room. Peeta pushed me away. We did not talk about it and then in the arena, the birds. It all made sense. I’m so mad at you. She is Capitol and you lo…” 

“Shut up. You don’t know what you are talking about. Do as I say and now go.” He pushed her out of his room. 

Their relationship did not improve over the course of the next days. It became outright hostile when the latest Capitol message aired. Peeta looked so frail, he had bruises, and the Capitol did not bother with make up this time. He looked haggard, like a man thrice his age to top it all his eyes looked haunted. 

The people in district 13 booed and called Peeta a coward. Katniss looked lost, she looked to the screen only. “Katniss, they’re coming Katniss.” A peacekeeper hit him with a gun. The screen went black. 

“Could it be?” Coin and her minions were on the move immediately. “Get everyone to the lower levels, evacuate the upper levels. 

It was all a haze. Suddenly soldiers were pushing him through the big stairs, they must have gone through at least thirty long flights of stairs until they reached the bunkers. The soldiers jammed him and most of district 12 into the small spaces. 

He found Mrs. Everdeen, and the Hawthornes. He sat with them. Soon he breathed easier when Katniss entered the bunker. “Where’s Prim?”

“I thought she was with you.” The woman said fearfully.

“She went back for the damned cat.” Just like that Katniss was out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your comments. Please Keep reading :)

Chapter 8

Haymitch ran to the doors but did not catch up to her. He waited with a gut wrenching feeling as the doors began to close. “You can’t. The mockingjay is out there.” 

“Step back sir.” A soldier said with a proper voice. He cursed him and tried to get past him. It did not work.

He saw Prim come in with the blasted cat. Katniss was next and then Gale entered. Haymitch hugged her. “Stupid girl.” He muttered. 

Those three days were hell on all of them. They were not used to being underground, the structures did not feel safe. The worst was the shaking and the children and women crying. 

Mrs. Everdeen hugged Prim to her. Hazelle did the same with Vick and Posy while Rory and Gale played a game or other. Katniss held a flashlight to her and shook every time she heard noise. 

She had her hands to her ears when another bomb dropped. They felt the ground shake this one was worse than any of the others before. They could hear this one. Katniss sat up. The ground shook with unprecedented force. Mrs. Everdeen hugged little Prim closer to her and rocked. Gale held Rory. Katniss heard the screams from another girl in a bed close to hers and opened her grey eyes. His grey eyes stared back at him. He heard a cannon, only it wasn’t one, it couldn’t be a cannon. The ceiling shook and fine debris fell on people once more. 

Katniss trembled like a leaf and did not stay in her bed after the second cannon sounded. She yelled and yelled. She was having a flashback. Mrs. Everdeen tried to comfort her but Katniss pushed her. The girl even pushed Prim aside. There were two soldiers fast approaching her. “Sweetheart. Sweetheart.” She yelled and moved away from him but did not push him. He sat next to her. Suddenly he had a lap full of a crying, sobbing Katniss. She covered her ears and yelled when another cannon like sound burst again. 

“Shh. It will be fine. We’ll be ok.” She did not listen and tried to kick him and claw her way out of his embrace. “You lied, you’re a liar.” She cried. There was a doctor, the same doctor who sewed his head wound. 

He approached; Haymitch shook his head, “Remember the Valley song? The one Peeta likes.” He decided to use that; it had worked with her before. It would work again. 

“Down in the valley, the valley so low  
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow  
Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow;” He sang softly, she relaxed and hugged him again. He sang in her ear and closed his eyes. Haymitch used a low voice to help her settle down. 

He sang over and over until she was asleep. He opened his eyes; the world was quiet, relatively quiet. He opened his eyes. “You have a beautiful voice.” Mrs. Everdeen said. 

He was uncomfortable; to be honest he did not care too much for the woman. She was weak and of no support to Katniss. She gave up too easily for his liking. 

“Thank you.” He said stiffly. 

The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “Her father used to sing her all those songs. You know all of them.” 

Haymitch avoided her gaze. He looked away; every child in the Seam learned those songs. Miners’ songs, he was the son of a miner and learned them all. He taught them to Mathew too. 

“She used to love all of them. I wanted them gone when he died.” Haymitch had little to no interest in her conversation now. All that mattered was that Katniss was sleeping now. 

She must have gotten the hint because she went back to her bed. He could see the glare Gale threw his way. The boy was smitten but he had no future with Katniss. She was in love with Peeta even if she didn’t want to admit it. Gale threw another dirty look at him. The Hawthorne boy did not understand his relationship with the girl. 

He closed his eyes once more. He hummed softly whenever Katniss started to fidget in her sleep. It helped some. She remained close to him for the rest of the three days. “I’m sorry I blamed you.” She said the second night after he sang to her. 

They did not do feelings. They were not wired that way. “He promised to keep them safe. Now she’s gone.” He said simply. “But we can have Peeta back.”

“It’s been almost six months. He looked so weak tonight.” She said despondently. 

“We have to get him back.” Haymitch added with finality. 

“She’ll accept won’t she?” Katniss asked gently. 

“She will. They have to if they ever want to hear their mockingjay sing to their crowds.” He said with a little smirk. His girl smiled and hugged him. “You’ll be there. You’ll help me.” 

“Where else would I be?” He rolled his eyes. Katniss did not let go of him. 

By the fourth day they were allowed to get out and assess the damages done to district 13’s infrastructure. Gale monopolized Katniss’s attention and asked her to go up with him. She smiled and took his hand and off they were. 

Plutarch and Boggs asked him to the command room. “We have a meeting.”

President Coin, Commander Paylor, Beetee, Katniss, and they sat around a table. “You’ll be happy to know that Peeta’s warning made it possible for us to have 0 casualties. We have decided to rescue the remaining victors. We are just waiting for Beetee to infiltrate their communication systems.” Katniss nodded. 

“We need you to release a public statement. You have to condemn President Snow and his attack of district 13.”

Katniss briefly glanced at him. He blinked at her. “No. I won’t, not until I have Peeta back.”

“We had a deal Ms. Everdeen.” President Coin hissed.

“And I have fulfilled my duties. It is time for you to hold the end of your bargain.” She said clearly. 

“Those are not your words Katniss. They’re his.” Plutarch denounced. Haymitch remained rooted to his spot, silent for once. 

“I want Peeta back.” She said forcefully. “It’s been six months. He’s weaker every time they interview him. He will die.” She yelled. 

“This is not about an individual. We are trying to save Panem.” Coin tried to use an understanding voice. 

“I can try to infiltrate the systems more aggressively.” Beetee offered.

“I need a date.” She said carefully. 

“Let’s get that statement out of the way and then we’ll talk about the rescue mission. How about next week?”

Haymicth nodded. “Fine. What do I have to do?”

They would get her ready by that same afternoon. Once again they forbade him from going up. He hadn’t seen daylight since they rescued him from the arena. 

He did not complain. Plutarch and Coin distrusted him now more than ever. He sat back on his chair and saw the roses. “You have to bring her down.” he addressed the people in the command room. 

“Katniss breathe.” He said through the earpiece. 

“I won’t do it. I won’t do it. He’ll kill Peeta. He told me he would. I should have listened. I should have listened.” She repeated, anguished by the roses and the stench of them. 

Cressida and her team brought her back. She ran off and no one knew where. Haymitch took a stand once more. 

“You have to bring Peeta back if you ever want to have your mockingjay. She will not do this propo. Have Finnick do it. She won’t do it.” Haymitch left the command room and searched for something strong, anything that had some alcohol in it. 

Beetee, bless his soul managed to crack the systems three hours later. They called him up as soon as they managed to infiltrate the Capitol.

Boggs yelled left and right. “I can get us there in two hours.” A young soldier said. He saw five able men and Gale Hawthorne dressed for combat. 

“You volunteered.” Hyamitch said. 

“Peeta would have done the same.” He said solemnly. Perhaps the Hawthorne boy was not as rotten as he had thought. 

He went in search for Katniss as soon as Plutarch explained the plan and he saw the men off. 

She was in one of the pipes. He smiled at her. “You’ll have to do what they tell you from now on or at least pretend you do.”

“I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to and she hasn’t given me Peeta.”

Haymitch smiled. “Six volunteers and Boggs are on their way to the Capitol as we speak. Guess who is one of the brave volunteers?”

“Gale.” She said decisively. 

He nodded. “We have got to get you out of here. I’m too old for spaces so little as these.”

“I won’t do the damn propo.” She hissed as they walked to the command room. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart. They have Finnick. All they need is a viable distraction.” He stood up awkwardly and walked to the command room. Katniss followed him. 

“I want to be there. I need to be there.” She said as they passed the double door leading to the command room. 

They waited and transmitted the message as soon as the hovercraft landed. The Capitol had the victors in the training areas. Finnick recounted his past as victor. He saw as Katniss shuddered. Finnick told the tale of how President Snow poisoned all his opponents and why he always the scent of roses clung to him. 

“They’re in.” Beetee smiled. Katniss and him watched as the men descended into the training centers. He held his breath when the team made it through a maze of corridors. “I’ve lost the signal.” Beetee said panicked.

Haymitch turned to the man. “It was a set up. They’re trapped.”

“They can’t be.” Katniss replied with fear in her eyes. 

“We’ll wait. Beetee keep trying to get back our signal.” Plutarch spoke evenly.

“Come on Sweetheart. Let’s get out of here.” He led Katniss out of the command room and into the massive dining hall. 

“They will be fine.” He assured her but Katniss was not listening. “He warned me this would happen. I should have listened. I should have kissed Peeta more. If I had just acted more in love nothing would have happened.”

“It’s too late for that Katniss. All we can do is wait now.”

And so they did for two hours until the hovercraft came back. An orderly came to the hall to meet them. “The rescue mission is back.” Katniss ran and Haymitch was behind her. 

They ran past the double doors to the infirmary. The Hawthorne boy was there. She hugged him briefly and then entered to the infirmary. Finnick waited outside a door. “They won’t let me in.” He said despondently. Katniss rushed past the doors. Annie saw Finnick and ran to him. Haymitch barely had time to register the encounter. The girl ran past the couple, looking for Peeta. 

Joanna was thin, bald and bruised. She was being attended by a healer when. Katniss went through another door as if in a trance. Peeta sat on the bed. 

“Peeta.” She breathed and rushed to hug him. The boy stood up too. Something was amiss however. While there was only happiness in Katniss’s eyes the boy’s eyes were dead. 

He tried to strangle her. Peeta placed his hands around the girl’s neck and choked her. “Peeta.” He yelled and tried to shake Peeta off of Katniss. The boy knocked him to the floor. Boggs finally hit him upside the head with an instrument’s tray. 

“Get her to a gurney and into a bed now.” A doctor pushed past him. “What was that?” He asked as someone helped him up. “We’ll have to run test and find out.” The woman to his right said. “She’ll be fine.”

“You might want to see that cut checked out.” Plutarch said. 

“What do you want?” Haymitch asked not happy to see his ugly face. 

“We found Effie.” Haymitch looked up and felt his throat close. Did they find her body?”

“How did she die?” He asked quickly, without looking at anything but a fixed point in the wall. A nurse cleaned his cut and placed a band-aid on his forehead. 

“She’s not dead. She is here Haymitch.”


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Plutarch said the words and he couldn’t believe them. He followed him to another room, smaller and more sterile if that was possible. 

“She’s in very bad shape.” The doctor who he kept running into said with a serious tone. 

There was an army of doctors around a bed in which he presumed Effie was on. He heard them speak hurriedly and Plutarch shoved him back.

Haymitch struggled and tried to stay in the room but the doctor blocked him and pushed him out of the room. 

“She’s lost a lot of blood. We need to work on her.” The man said.

“I’ll be here. I’ll stay out until you finish. I want to see her, as soon as you’re done. I have to see her.” Haymitch said feverishly. 

“Fine.” The man started to walk away. Haymitch realized he did not know the doctor’s name and asked. He needed to put a name on the doctor who treated Effie.

“What’s your name?”

“Blalock.” The man hurried inside the smaller room. 

Plutarch left him there. Haymitch sat down and waited for hours. He saw Primrose walking to him about five hours after he sat down to wait for Dr. Blalock to come out.

“Katniss is awake. She wants to see you.” The girl had never spoken three words to him. 

“How is she?” He asked while looking into her blue eyes. 

“She had a breakdown and no one will tell us about Peeta.” The girl tried hard to not cry. 

Haymitch looked at the door and then the girl. “You stay here. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Do not move. If any doctor or nurse comes near you do not let them go until I get back.” He left the little girl and ran to Katniss’s room. 

He opened the door and found her on the bed with a neck brace. “How is Peeta?” Haymitch hadn’t seen him yet. He couldn’t say that to Katniss however. 

“He’s sedated. He’s fine.” He reassured her. 

“He’s not fine. He tried to kill me. They did something to him.” She said angrily. 

“Effie is alive.” He said wanting someone else to know that she was still alive. 

“I have to go. I’m waiting on news about her.” 

Katniss grabbed his hand. “I don’t want you to go.” He smiled softly. “I’ll be back before you know it. I just have to make sure she’s fine.” 

“No, don’t.” She cried pitifully.

“I’ll be back I swear.” He kissed her forehead and left. 

He needed to know how Peeta was doing. He went back to the room. They had restrained him and heavily sedated him. “What did they do to him?”

“They tortured him, beat him, and hijacked him. There are traces of tracker jacker venom on his blood. The Capitol injected him regularly from our findings.”

“Is that why he attacked Katniss? Can he be detoxed?” Haymitch asked quickly. 

“We don’t know yet. He has to be awake first. He’s medicated now and will not wake up for a couple of hours.” The woman said while looking at her chart.

Haymitch ran out the door and went back to his waiting place. “Did anyone come by?”

The girl shook her head and left to her sister’s room once more. 

The old victor waited for another hour when Dr. Blalock stepped out.

He stood up and motioned for the door. “Mr. Abernathy. I don’t think now is the best time to see her.”

“What do you mean? What happened? Did she die?” The words came out much more forcibly than he intended.

“Let’s walk Mr. Abernathy.” The man tried to touch his shoulder but Haymitch refused to move. 

“No. You tell me what’s going on right now.” He hissed dangerously, losing whatever sanity he had left. 

“Mr. Abernathy, Ms. Trinket’s condition is delicate. I would like to have private words with you. I merely intend for you to follow me to my office.”

He followed the man to an office close to where they held Peeta. “Have a seat.” 

“I am under no obligation to discuss Ms. Trinket’s injuries with you but President Coin has not stated otherwise so I will speak clearly with you.” The man spoke plainly and his tone was comforting. 

“Ms. Trinket is not in the best shape. The next twenty-four hours will be critical. She lost a lot of blood when she came to district 13. We had to perform a C-section to get the babies out.”

Haymitch paled. “Babies.”

“Haymitch, Ms. Trinket gave birth to twin boys. One of them died two hours ago and the other baby does not have a good prognosis. He is in the incubator but I am not optimistic. He is underweight, preterm and his lungs are not working properly.”

The victor received the information with a heavy heart. “I don’t understand. Does she know?” He asked anguished and overwhelmed with information he couldn’t begin to process. 

“Ms. Trinket has been underfed and beaten. She was unconscious when they brought her to my care. I do not know. I know that she will wake up in a few hours.”

Haymitch nodded. “I need to see the baby.” He stood up quickly and followed the doctor to another endless hallway.

He was the only baby in the room. All the other little cribs were empty. “He’s preterm. If he were to live we’d have got to keep him here for at least another month.” The doctor looked at him. 

“I will be brutally honest Haymitch. I doubt the boy will make it through the night.” He said as gentle as he could. 

“What about the other boy?” Haymitch looked at the small and frail baby. He was so small, and was hooked up to all those tubes. 

“He is in the morgue.” The doctor looked uncomfortable.

The old victor nodded and glanced at the baby once more before asking to see Effie. “I need to see her.” He replied and moved away from the window.

“Her body has been through severe shock. She’s malnourished, dehydrated, and tortured. She needs time to recover. I have sedated her. She will be asleep for the next twenty four hours.”

Haymitch understood. “You told me that already. I just need to see her.” He realized he hadn’t seen her. He’d seen Peeta, Annie and Joanna but not Effie. 

“Please, I have to see her.” He begged. He didn’t care anymore. 

“Fine but only for a few minutes.”

He led him back to the floor where Effie was. They moved her to another room. She was a hallway away from Katniss and three floors above Peeta. 

He entered the room and saw her for the first time. She looked so small, pale and skinny. They had cut her hair just like Joanna’s, her arms were black and blue from bruises and she had a black eye. Haymitch held her hand and cried. He kissed her hand and sobbed. They destroyed her. 

“Haymitch, you have to go. You are of no use to her like this. She needs to rest." The doctor informed him and fought him until he was outside the double doors again. He threatened to stay on the floor until they let him sit with her.

Blalock was implacable and did not relent. Haymitch spent hours on the floor until he heard the doctor approach him.

"I have to operate on the baby boy. He has a heart defect." The man said without blinking.

Haymitch looked back at him. "I need your consent." The older man was already on scrubs.

The victor nodded. This had to be a nightmare. He decided to follow the man. He couldn't stay outside the door. He needed to do something, so he followed the doctor.

Once again they wouldn't let him inside the operating room. He wanted a drink bad, so bad. He slumped down and waited. It was there where President Coin and Plutarch found him.

The woman was not known for her niceties. She was abrasive, to the point of making him want to strangle her. 

"Young Peeta Mellark has become the Capitol's weapon. He's been hijacked with the sole purpose of killing our Mockingjay. He does not hold much love for you either it seems." The woman stated.

Haymitch remembered how Peeta punched and lunged after him when he tried to pry him off Katniss. "Beetee and our best doctors are examining his blood and coming with a solution as we speak." Plutarch intervened. The man tried to appease him.

Coin however was not trying to. "He will be isolated until we find a cure for him or he is not a danger. I will not have a boy kill the symbol of our revolution. As to the Capitol woman, she will be imprisoned as soon as her condition improves."

He felt his rage, an old friend coming to meet him at last. "No." He said and stood up to her. He moved close to the woman and spoke softly. "Let me enlighten you Madame president. You will not touch her. She was part of the original deal. Katniss and Peeta, you lose them both if you even think of targeting her." He wanted to snap her neck but Plutarch held his arm back.

"Madame President, we should get back," the Capitol man tried.

The woman glared at him and at the old victor. "Thread lightly Mr. Abernathy. You can't afford to have me as your enemy. I will indulge this time; your paramour and child will be safe for now, only because I can't lose this war. Have your girl perform, make her the best actress in the history of Panem, she has to be our Mockingjay until this war is won."

He saw as they left. Plutarch made a gesture to him but he dismissed it. He waited the whole night. Prim and Mrs. Everdeen came by him and tried to get him to sleep or eat something. 

The doctor came by his side. “He’s a fighter. The surgery went better than expected. He is out of surgery. I need your consent for something else Haymitch.”

He remained quiet; he was tired of it all. He nodded. “I will place baby boy in the Special Care Unit. I have spoken with some colleagues and they assured me that baby boy would thrive there. This district has enormous amounts of technology regarding neonatal care. We will track his progress there.”

“If there is such a magical place why are you asking for my consent?” He asked weary and tired.

“There can be complications early on. If baby boy’s body does not accept the medicine to accelerate his growth then he will die. It is a very high-risk situation and only twenty percent of children born prematurely in 13 survive the onslaught of medicine.” The man said in what tried to be a calm tone. 

“Why are you asking me?” He asked trying to think without having a headache.

“You are the only one he has.” The doctor said and looked at him in the eye daring him to answer.

“What are his chances without going to that place?” 

“His heart is strong for his gestational age but his lungs and other organs are not sufficiently developed. Three days at most.”

He gulped. “When do we know if the drugs will not kill him?”

“Twenty four hours.” The man replied as calmly as before.

“Do it. Do it.” He said hurriedly and left the hallway, he wanted to go back and check on Effie.

The sight that greeted him was heartbreaking. She was crying pitifully clutching a blanket, trying to breathe through a mask. A flurry of nurses tried to block his way but he made his way inside. There was no doctor to keep him away from her then. 

He sat next to her and grabbed her hand. She flinched away but then saw him and became more agitated. She shook her head and inched away from him. The nurse shoved him aside and sedated her once more. Haymitch saw her terrified eyes and was scared, more than when he waited for her to be alive. She looked at him with fear, so much fear. Effie never feared him, she was disgusted by him when they met, irritated with him when he was drunk. She pitied him a few years in between but she had never feared him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 

They politely asked him to leave, lest their patient woke up again and suffered another setback. He agitated her, they said. It was for the better if he saw her after she was conscious and aware of her surroundings. 

He left and went to the Special Care Unit. The place ended up being where all of 13’s medical advancements were made. They had Peeta three flights down, experimenting on him just like they were with Effie’s baby boy.

Haymitch was permitted to see the boy through the protective glass. They had him on a box. He had been in there for five hours. “His vitals are steady, his condition improving by the hour.”

“Why does he look like he is in pain?” He asked, the small baby had his eyes closed but his tiny face was scrunched up in distress.

The doctor did not look at his face. “He’s in pain, isn’t he?” 

“If he can resist these treatments then he will live, it is but a small price to pay for a long life. He needs this.” The man was convinced. 

Haymitch balled his fists, another child suffering at his hands. It was too late for regrets now. All he could do was wait. He waited, he spent those remaining nineteen hours watching the crib and seeing the small baby thrive. 

He couldn’t keep his eyes open, he slept after the doctor told him they would move baby boy to a less aggressive treatment and the worse had passed. “A fighter that one. He needs an appropriate, strong name.”

Haymitch nodded and found a bed somewhere close. His sleep came quickly and fortunately without many nightmares. The doctor yanked him awake; “what happened? You said he would be fine.”

“His brother, they cannot keep him in the morgue any more. The district has strict protocols and wish to dispose of the body. 

He read between the lines. “She’s not awake yet.”

“You’ll have to make a decision, they will not wait much longer.” The man added.

Haymitch left the room.

He went in the morgue. The workers had him swaddled in a various blue blankets. “I’m so sorry sir.” A young man said and gave him this tiny bundle, not bigger than his two hands. 

He nodded and cradled the little corpse. The baby needed a proper burial. He did not ask permission out of anyone and left 13’s bases. He felt Katniss come his way. “I was looking for you.” She said out of breath.

Haymitch held the bundle of clothes closer to his chest. The girl followed him like she was prone to do. He passed through checkpoints and security posts until he was out of 13 and into a Hovercraft. “Where are we going?” Katniss asked when they were seated in the hovercraft.

“To district 12.” He said. No one questioned him once they were in the hangar. No one asked if he had permission. Plutarch must have said something or convinced President Coin to indulge him. The Capitol man used that word to keep him alive.

She nodded. They were quiet the whole ride and went into the Victor’s Village. District 13 had started the burial of bodies where the Peacekeeper’s office had been. The Victor’s Village had its own cemetery. He did not know where to place the baby. He needed to dig a grave and mark his resting place. 

Katniss surprised. “Let me hold him.” She said quietly. Of course she knew, her little sister must have told her. 

He nodded gruffly and worked silently for about an hour until, he deemed his work ready. The man gingerly grabbed the baby from Katniss’s arms. 

The idea of throwing dirt to his face was unconceivable to the man. The girl must have known because the next thing he knew she was speaking, “They have coffins. Gale told me district 13 is giving the option to the survivors to bury their loved ones.”

He nodded once more. He sat down on a bench with the baby on his arms. He looked very different from his brother. The baby in 13 was doing a lot better and was growing at a neck breaking speed. This baby was small, pale, and dead. He would never open his eyes. He would never call Effie mom, laugh or cry. 

Katniss arrived before he could feel the encompassing rage he felt all the time now. “It’s not much but it’s the best one I could find.” They placed the baby inside the casket and placed him in the gravesite. Haymitch buried the little boy. It was cruel to leave the place without marking the baby’s final resting place.

His feet led him to the Meadow. He picked daisies and forget-me-nots. The man went back to the gravesite and arranged the flowers to mark the resting place of the child. 

“What was his name?” Katniss asked curiously.

“Marcus.” Haymitch replied without hesitance. It seemed like a lifetime ago, that evening before the second quarter quell, when Effie and him were under the sheets and she told him as a girl she had her children’s names picket out. “I like Marcus, Marius, Lucius, and Julius.” She parroted for twenty minutes. He liked Marcus and Marius the best out of all those silly names she liked so much. 

Haymitch remained quiet for a while. Katniss stayed quiet as well until the hovercraft pilot appeared nearby. The girl nudged his arm and Haymitch left the grave of his small son. 

The trip to district 13 was silent. There was not any need for them to speak about anything. He went back to the facilities where Marius was. Haymitch looked at the blonde boy. One of the nurses asked him if he wanted to see baby boy. 

“Not baby boy. His name is Marius Abernathy.” Haymitch; the man put on blue scrubs, gloves, a mask and a cap in order to enter the room where Marius was. The baby was inside the incubator. 

“You can speak and touch him. Doctor Blalock will be with you shortly. He has very good news for you.” The young woman said and then left them alone. 

Haymicth sat near the incubator and watched the baby. He looked bigger than a few hours ago. He was pink and looked healthier. The baby squirmed and opened his eyes. He started crying immediately. Haymitch heard shrill cries and smiled. That was good. Marius was crying, his lungs were developed, he wailed angrily and kicked his arms and legs. 

The old victor noticed the baby was not hooked to any cables. He did not dare hold him yet. The nurse rushed in and fed him.

Haymitch went every day to see Marius for two weeks. He stopped by Effie’s room but Blalock was hell bent into not letting him see her. Haymitch tried to sneak past the doors and threatened doctors and nurses to no result. 

“You said she would be unconscious for a day. It’s been a week.” he raged. 

The older man nodded, “she is awake but terribly confused and distressed. Ms. Trinket needs time to recover.” 

Haymitch and the Everdeen girls took turns asking questions here and there. Prim and Katniss liked Marius. Prim held him while Katniss smiled at him. 

“He has your eyes.” Katniss smiled at him. Haymitch held Marius ever since the nurse said he could. He touched his hands and nose each time. Marius was a good boy. He did not cry much. 

Three weeks after Effie arrived he saw the doctor come in and open the incubator where Marius slept. 

“Baby boy does not need to stay here any longer.” The man said with a smile while he held the baby.

“Marius, his name is Marius Abernathy.” Haymitch said while he saw the baby’s blue eyes open and close. 

The doctor nodded, “your mother is awake Marius and is asking for you.” 

Haymitch immediately spoke up, “I have to see her.” 

“She is not fit to see visitors Mr. Abernathy, not yet.” Haymitch shook his head. 

“I have to see her.” He continued. Effie always wanted to see him. She always did. he was sure once Effie saw him and they spoke things would get resolved for the better. He would apologize until his voice was raw from begging her forgiveness. 

“She was very agitated when she learned she was in district 13 and asked to see her baby. She is finally lucid.” The doctor continued. 

The blond man looked at the man and spoke once more, “please, let me see her. If she wants me out of the room I will leave. I swear. I will not stay near her if she gets upset. I will do as you say.” 

The doctor was reluctant and took a lot of convincing but eventually he managed to get inside the hospital room. They wheeled Marius’s incubator where Effie was. 

Haymitch saw her hair had grown and she now hat a cap of fuzzy blond hair. She looked afraid, and alert. The bruises on her arms had faded as had the black eye. She looked stronger, still thin but she did not have that sickly pallor or the frantic eyes that she had when he first saw her. 

Effie looked at him for the first time. She shook her head, “I don’t want to see you.”

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” He started. 

She trembled in front of him. “Go away. Go. Get away from us.” She cried and looked at the nurse. The woman looked at his Effie with disgust however. “I don’t want him here.” She cried. 

Haymitch watched as she became more agitated. He looked a little Marius inside his incubator. The nurse ignored her pleas and placed Marius by her side. 

“You can pick him up if you want. I will come back in an hour.” The woman said curtly. 

Effie glanced at the baby. “He’s so small.” She caressed the glass. 

Haymitch seized the moment; he walked slowly toward the baby. He picked me up. The man heard her cry and gasp. “Don’t hurt him. Please, don’t hurt him. Please. I’ll do anything. Don’t hurt him.” She was almost hyperventilating. His brain told him to leave the room but he could not. He was not about to lose Effie. He needed to apologize to her. He would make it better. They had Marius to worry about. He could not afford to give her space. If he did she would be by herself in 13 with people hating her. The nurse was the first of many more people who would despise her on sight. 

“Sweetheart, I would not hurt him.” Haymitch sat down by her side. She was too weak to protest or move away from him. 

“Do you want to hold him?” he asked her with a small smile. 

Effie trembled and avoided his eyes. “Please.” Haymitch put the baby on her arms. Effie drew a big breath and saw little Marius. 

“Hey baby.” She said and touched his cheek. 

He opened his eyes and stared at her. “He has your eyes.” She said and then looked at him. There was a moment when she saw him with love. Effie loved him, she had almost said so before the third Quarter Quell. 

“We don’t want anything from you. We don’t want to be near you.” Effie continued. “It’s all your fault. My other baby is dead because of you. I will not let you hurt him. Oh you don’t have a name yet.”

Haymitch knew it was his fault. He felt angry but she would not take Marius away from him. Effie was not in the Capitol. She was in district 13 and this place was dangerous for her and Marius. 

“His name is Marius Abernathy. You were not waking up and he needed a name so did Marcus.” Haymitch said carefully. 

Effie cried, “This is all your fault.” She cried and held Marius to her chest. “My baby is gone because of you.”

Haymitch nodded; it was his fault but it was her fault as well. She should have told him she was pregnant, “I thought you would be safer in the Capitol with your people.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?” He asked a little angry with her. She never listened. Effie did as she liked and here were the consequences. There was a voice that blamed her for not making it to 13. 

“I did not know.” She said hollowly. 

“Please go away. I don’t want to see you. I want you to stay as far away from me and my son.” Her voice was hard and determined. He would not stay away from her or Marius.

“Marius is mine too.” Haymitch looked at her.

“He is not.” Effie tried to say with a broken voice.

“He is mine Euphemia.” The man said with a fierce voice. There was not even the slightest doubt in his mind that her children were his. “We will be fine without you.” She said with a tired tone.

He shook his head, “The people here do not take to your kind easily. It will be best if you stay with me. What have the doctors said?”

“Nothing. No one speaks to me.” She said quietly.

Haymitch nodded, “I will tell you everything.” 

Effie listened; she listened carefully. “It was a plan. Heavensbee approached me before the quarter quell. The night it was announced I received a package with information about the revolution. I made plans to go in the arena with Katniss and make sure she was alive. Most of the tributes were on board with our plan. Katniss did not know nor did Peeta or you for that matter.”

Effie looked at him, “I begged you to tell me and you did not.” She said with resentment.” 

“You were in danger. We all were. The less you and the children knew the better. I made arrangements for Peeta and you to be safe. Plutarch was supposed to pick you at the penthouse.”

She remained silent. Marius was asleep once more. “We were rescued and Plutarch explained you and Peeta were captured. Katniss was to become the symbol of revolution and she did. I have planned to rescue you and the boy ever since I got to this damn district.” He said honestly. “I thought you were dead. We were able to see footage of Peeta but you were missing. I thought you were dead.”

Effie looked at him and replied, “I wish you were dead.” 

Haymitch felt pain in his chest but continued speaking, “Peeta, Annie and Joanna are here as well. Annie is fine, Joanna is sedated as is Peeta at the moment. He was hijacked and tortured but he is safe now.” Haymitch felt the need to explain that the children were fine. “Katniss is safe too.” 

Effie nodded, “What happened to Marcus?” her voice trembled. 

“He died a few hours after he was born. His body was not fully developed. The doctor put Marius in an aggressive treatment. He is a fighter. You always like Marius and Marcus…”

“I remember that day. It’s all fuzzy sometimes but I remember that day.” Effie said tiredly. 

“Peeta is not well Haymitch. They made him watch.” She said quietly. 

Haymitch tensed, “Watch what Princess?” He was scared of her answer. 

Effie did not reply, she looked at Marius and kissed his forehead. Haymitch asked her once more. “Watch what Princess? What did they do to you?”

She sobbed, heart wracking sobs that made him feel worse than when Maysilee died. Almost as bad as when Mathew and mother died. “They made him watch as they beat me. They made him beat me.”

He wanted to vomit. “Princess, I am so sorry.” His voice was low. 

Effie did not look at him. “I don’t want to see you again. I never want to see your face.” She said with a hard voice. “Stay away from me and Marius.” This time she looked into his eyes and there was a cold determination. The fierceness in her eyes told him that there was nothing more he could do for that day.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

He visited Marius every day when Effie was asleep. Dr. Blalock let him only because Plutarch had convinced Coin to give Haymitch special permission to see his child. The man thought it was ridiculous but accepted the offer. Effie refused to see him. He did not know how she was feeling. It had been four weeks since they last saw each other. 

Katniss visited Effie almost every day. In turn he visited Peeta almost everyday. Haymitch and her found a routine. The girl would train, visit Effie and spend time with her family and they meet him so they could speak of Peeta and Effie. Haymitch spent most of his day in the war rooms with Plutarch and different district leaders. Coin liked to keep him and Katniss near, under her control. 

“Hello sweetheart.” He said as soon as Katniss entered the small room. 

“They are going to discharge her this evening. Her quarters will be in the North section.” She said as an introduction. 

The man frowned, “That can’t be that section is at least two hours away from our section.” 

“Effie is worried about moving there. She wanted to be close to my quarters but they refused her application.” Katniss continued. “How is Peeta?”

Haymitch shrugged, “He spends his days painting, trying to remember more things about what happened during his first games and the third quarter quell. He remembered trying to strike an alliance with me to save you. He was confused.” 

Katniss nodded, “He is not our Peeta anymore. He is a mutt.” She said with anger. 

“He calls you the same, a mutt.” Haymitch replied. Katniss’s eyes hardened. “You have got to give him more time.”

“Four weeks and he doesn’t want to see me yet.” Haymitch sighed. Sometimes he forgot Katniss was a teenager. Effie prohibited him seeing her or Marius. Thankfully no one in the district had told her that he saw his son everyday for at least an hour while she slept. 

“What are you going to do about Effie and Marius?” She asked while she sat next to him and tried to read some reports on district 2. 

He shrugged once more. “I don’t know.”

“She can’t go to the North quarters. That is really close to the ground.” He nodded, those quarter were the last to get to the safe rooms last time when they were attacked. 

“I will see her before she is discharged.” He promised. 

“I saw Marius today.” She smiled, “I think he likes me.”

Haymitch smirked, “He is really beautiful, all that blond hair. He has your grey eyes.” 

“Yeah, he does.” The man smiled again. “How is Effie?”

Katniss smirked at him, “She is well. Does not have nightmares anymore or so she says. She is trying out new head scarves. She hates her hair.”

“Don’t know why. She has beautiful strawberry blonde hair.” Haymitch mused. 

Katniss shrugged once more. “She tried to get some make up for me and her. She says I look too pale and that my stylists here are idiots.”

He smirked, “When is the next propos?”

“Tomorrow evening.” She said with a tired voice. Coin still had her doing some propos here and there to defend the fact that Katniss was not allowed to train as many hours as soldiers.

“Effie will be with you then.” He said as he left the rooms. 

His plan was madness but it could work. Plutarch was unhappy with the way Katniss’s propos were filmed. He wanted more public appeal. Effie was great with media exposure and all that crap. 

He navigated through the passages of the district. The nurse let him inside the room. “What are you doing here?” Effie wore a jumpsuit and a headscarf. 

Haymitch looked at her, “I have a proposition for you princess.”

“I want nothing to do with you. You may leave Peeta is on his way to escort me to my new quarters.” Peeta had not said anything about helping Effie move anywhere. The boy met with Effie once a week. 

“Sweetheart, please listen. This is very important.” He tried once again.

“Please leave. I will not tell you again.” She said with a slightly raised voice. Effie avoided his eyes. 

“Just have a seat and listen.” He approached her. 

“I said no.” She busied herself folding some clothes. 

“Katniss needs you. They want her to be the face of the revolution once again. They need your guidance now. Plutarch wants Annie and Fin to marry, a televised event for the hearts of the rebels.” Haymitch said, pretending to entice her. 

“You are very good at all that media diffusion and making people likeable. Public images and all that.” He said with as much earnest as he could. 

“I am not interested.” She did not face him. 

“It would be better if you were. You will move in with me, to my quarters.” He was done with trying to win her with niceties and promises of work.

“I will do no such thing.” She turned and looked into his eyes. 

“You will. Marius and you will be safer with me. My quarters are safer and closer to the safe rooms.” Haymitch explained about the attacks. 

“I don’t want anyone in this place to link me to you.” She continued. 

“They all know you and Marius are mine.” The man said simply and looked at the door when the nurse brought his son. 

“Don’t touch him. He does not like any strangers.” Effie squeaked when he went near the crib.

“I am his father, not a stranger.” He refuted and held Marius to him. The baby did not cry.

“I see him every day Effie. You will have to accept that I will see him every day until I die.”

She sniffed, “You have not come to see me.” She said weakly, 

“Only because you told me not too.” Haymitch replied and came close to her. 

“You will become a war prisoner if you move by yourself. I will not be near to protect you or Marius if need be. Effie, think of our son.”

She looked at him again, “I think about him and Marcus every day Haymitch. I also think of Peeta and Katniss. How a sweet boy like my Peeta cannot even hear the name of the girl he loved dearly without flying into aggressive rages. I think of Katnniss and how sad she is whenever I utter Peeta’s name. I need you to stay away from me and Marius.” 

Effie looked at him with steely eyes and lifted Marius from his arms. “Please leave. I will help Katniss but not because of this damned revolution but because she needs me. She needs people who love and genuinely car for her.”

Haymitch nodded, “I will see my son princess.” 

She pretended to not hear. “You will be assigned quarters near Katniss’s. Do not move North yet. I will expect you tomorrow in the war rooms. We have got to show Coin that Katniss is still our Mockingjay. Marius will stay with either Mrs. Everdeen or Hazelle when you start working with us.”

Effie wrinkled her nose, “Who is Hazelle?” 

“The Hawthornes’ mom.” Haymitch replied.

He left once Effie nodded and turned away from him. In his mind this plan ended differently. She accepted his offer and they lived in the same quarters just like when they were in the capitol. He would make Effie understand that it was best if she forgave him. 

“I will see you tomorrow princess.” He said as he left the hospital room. 

His next stop was Plutarch’s quarters. He discussed the plans and the man agreed to make it happen. “I will have the quarters next to you available for her and Marius.”

Haymitch left after that. He went to Peeta’s rooms. “Hey Peeta.” Peeta looked better now. He was painting the bakery. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you met with the mutt every day?”

Haymitch sighed, “I knew you would overreact.” 

Peeta left his brushes and faced him fully. “The doctors tell me I loved her. You tell me I love her. Delly tells me I may still love her. But she is a mutation. I can’t love her. She is evil. She killed my family. She made them torture me.” His eyes turned dark with rage. 

“You loved her very much. She does not deserve your love but she isn’t a bad person. Katniss and I, we tried to rescue you and Effie.” He said carefully. 

“Effie used to beg for you. The guards made me watch as they hit her. They cut her hair and she cried for weeks. I thought it was so strange that she cried for her hair. Effie said that you loved her hair. She wept for weeks. I hated you Haymitch. She cried and begged for you. She thought you would come and rescue us but you never did.” Peeta said angrily. 

Haymitch frowned, “We did the best we could. You were to meet with Plutarch. I went in the arena so you did not have to go there. In the end you and Effie were taken. When were you taken?”

Peeta frowned, “right when the jabberjays attacked you and the mutt. It is all fuzzy.” 

Haymitch stood up. “Effie and Marius are ready to move to their quarters”

“He is yours isn’t he?” Peeta and him walked to Effie’s rooms. She was ready and carried Marius. 

“Let me help you.” The older man offered to carry the bags. Effie did not say anything. 

“Good afternoon Peeta.” She smiled and kissed his cheek. Marius fussed a little but then quieted. 

The trek to the new quarters was silent. Peeta did not brave a word. Effie cooed and and walked with as much grace as she could. She completely ignored his attempts to engage her in conversation. 

“Thank you Peeta for helping me move. Would you care for some tea?” She said cheerfully as she settled Marius in his crib. 

“Yes, thank you Effie.” Peeta smiled while he played with Marius. Plutarch had done well. The quarters were stocked and there was a beautiful crib for his son.

“Sweetheart, I have to talk to you.” He tried once more. 

“You may see Marius whenever I am working. I don’t want to see you here. We don’t have to meet or see each other outside of work. Peeta dearest how many sugars would you like?”

“Just one Effie.” Peeta said with an uncomfortable voice. 

“Very well.” Haymitch approached the crib and kissed Marius’ forehead. 

He went back to the war rooms and tried to work on his reports and the rest of things he had to do before the following day. He could not think about Effie and her attitude toward him. They would work together again and that would have to be enough for now. 

Effie showed up the following morning. She did not wear the standard jumpsuits but a grey dress thing with a matching headscarf. She did not wear much make up but there was some make up on her face. 

Katniss hugged her. “You will be the best dressed and styled rebel there was.” 

Haymitch stayed back and watched as she sat near Plutarch. The Capitol man was forgiven it seemed. He would give anything for a drink right about when he heard her giggle with the Capitol man. 

Their day was productive as ever. Katniss was surprisingly cooperative. She even rehearsed for her propo of the afternoon. 

“Wonderful, wonderful Katniss. Now remember, head high, back straight and big smiles.” 

Katniss smiled and complied with Effie’s instructions. “She really is a great addition to our team. Very well thought Haymitch.” Plutarch gave directions to the filming crew to keep rolling. 

Their days kept like that. He would watch her; she would avoid all conversations with him and would only address him to tell him if Marius was with Hazelle or Mrs. Everdeen. He would go and spend at least two hours with his child and then leave when Effie picked Marius. 

Effie was anything if professional during their work meetings. Katniss told him that she asked about him regularly. That gave him some hope for their future. He had a headache and the fights in district 2 were not going as well as they should. Coin was on his ass to make sure Peeta endorsed them and not the Capitol. 

He rubbed his temples when everyone else trickled in. He would not go see Marius today. He was feeling under the weather. She stepped in stylists in tow. Katniss was to train with the rest of the soldiers and Joana. Peeta and Delly Cartwright were to cook for Fin’s and Annie’s upcoming wedding. This meeting was about the war. It was surprising to see Effie there. 

He approached her. “You can pick Marius from Hazelle’s. I am feeling under the weather. I don’t want to make him sick or anything.”

She frowned, “Very well.” She replied and stalked away. 

As it happened. It was a quick meeting. Plutarch and Coin raised questions regarding his ideas on how to get District 2 to surrender. Beetee proposed strategic bombings and he raised the question of how to gather sufficient public support. He felt woozy after discussing how to get more acceptance. 

“Princess, do you remember our 71st games?” he was tired and they were all speaking nonsense. 

“Yes, I do.” She said primly. 

“Our boy lasted five days before being killed by that career from district 1.” He said with his eyes closed. 

“I recall.” She said curtly. 

“We had those sponsors. They did not like our girl and were afraid to invest in the boy. We convinced him by showing that Peter could be a good bet. Let’s show them we have a good bet. Let’s show him Katniss, the girl on fire.” He said simply. 

“Put her in the field?” Coin asked. Haymitch closed his eyes.

“Have her make a quick detour.” He heard the clang of china against the stainless steel table. 

“Thank you sweetheart.” He said as he sipped on the weak tea. 

Effie sat by him. “His plan could work. We could send Katniss with her team and have her roll a few scenes. She works better with improvisation.” 

They discussed the wedding next and the propos about how happy and strong they all were. 

They felt the first rumbles soon after committing to the following week for Finnick’s wedding. Effie immediately grabbed his hand. “Marius.”

He could hear Madame Coin and Plutarch escorting everyone to the safe rooms. Haymitch pulled her up from her chair. “Listen very carefully sweetheart. Get Marius and follow Hazelle and her kids.”

She nodded, “Wait, where are you going? The shelters are supposed to be down.”

Haymitch nodded, “I have to find Peeta and his friend. They are near the North levels, the boy wanted to leave some pastries in the storage rooms. Follow Hazelle. Go.” He told her and kissed her forehead. Effie let him and nodded. She was his Effie once more. The one who listened to him and tried to keep bottles away from him.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

He ran up and found him with that Delly girl. Peeta did not look well. “Peeta, let’s go. Now.” Haymitch did not have time for the boy to have a flashback. 

“Where is Katniss?” He asked with fear. 

“Down in the safe rooms.” Haymitch followed the long lines until they were in their appointed chambers. Delly sighed when she saw the Hawthornes. She went away to them. 

“Let’s find you a safe bunk.” Peeta paled when he saw Katniss. Haymitch sighed when he spotted Effie and Marius by her side. 

“She is not a mutt. She is Katniss, the girl you fell in love with. You fed her bread remember. You took a beating for her. She is good.” Haymitch repeated as Katniss and Effie approached them. 

The boy looked at her and said the words he did not think he would hear, “I am happy you are fine Katniss. I remembered my heart stopping and you crying.”

Katniss smiled and tried to take his hand but he didn’t let her. “I am going with Delly.” He said quickly and went with her. 

Katniss’s face crumbled when he went away. She hugged him when the blasts went off again. “I don’t want to listen to them. Make them go away.” He shushed her and helped her to a bed near Mrs. Everdeen and Primrose. Effie was as pale as Peeta and Katniss. 

“Why don’t we get settled sweetheart?” He said to Katniss who nodded and trembled when the explosions rocked the safe rooms again. Haymitch watched Effie near them and saw as she jumped when the explosions thundered. 

“Come here next to me, bring Marius too.” He told her.

Effie trembled and obeyed. She trembled more, “Haymitch can you sing please?” Katniss asked with a small voice. It was a tradition now. He would have to sing to her every time these explosions happened. 

“What would you like me to sing sweetheart?” He asked as Effie clutched his other side. 

“The Hanging Tree.” She said and held him close. He was in the middle with Katniss and Effie by his sides. Marius was on burrowed in blankets in a small space between Effie and him. 

“Are you, are you coming to the tree?” He started and sang. He sang that song, the meadow, the Valley Song and many other miner songs until Katniss calmed down. She sang the Valley Song with him. Peeta looked at them from his bed. He looked at Katniss when she sang it and smiled at her. She smiled at him back. Effie was calmer now. She and the baby were asleep by his side. 

“Haymitch, do you think he’ll ever see me as just Katniss again?” the girl asked him. 

“He will. He smiled at you didn’t he? He is a sucker for you.” Haymitch smirked at her and hugged her. 

“I think Effie will forgive you. She wanted to kiss you tonight.” He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. 

The alarms sounded earlier the following day. Suddenly they were allowed to leave the safe rooms. 

Haymitch held Marius to his chest. “Last night was the best sleep I have gotten in months.” Effie said when she fed Marius. She did not breastfeed; Marius drank a special mix of formula with specific nutrients. 

“They were bombing us last night sweetheart. I doubt that was a good night sleep.” He said while yawning. He did not sleep much. Katniss had nightmares all night. 

He watched as she quieted and burped Marius. She placed him on his crib. It was his cue to leave the rooms. 

“I will come to see Marius later. I doubt Katniss would shoot any propos.” He said and he reached for the door. 

“You can come live with us.” She said and then hugged him. He could feel her tears on the back of his shirt. 

He turned and hugged her. He whispered quickly as she sobbed. “I thought you would be safer. I truly did. You never had to know. They would not link you to the rebels and you and Peeta would be safe if something happened to me or Katniss. I thought I was protecting you.”

“I am not forgiving you but I miss you so much.” She cried and kissed his chest. “I missed you horribly. I called for you. They said you hated me that you never cared for me. The guards said you left me as bait. They said that you didn’t care for me.”

Haymitch kissed her forehead. “I could never leave you or Peeta. I am so sorry about Marcus.”

Effie cried, “I didn’t know I was pregnant until they told me I was. The guards told me I would have a baby and that he will be going to the games. Your son would be going to the games. The son or daughter of a victor and an escort.” 

Haymitch wanted to vomit; they had to win this war. He could not imagine his son in the games. “We will win this war Effie. You will never have to reap another child’s name.” Effie leaned on him. 

“Let’s go to bed. We should sleep.” He motioned to her narrow bed. 

They tried to fit in the small bed. They were side by side and then she was on his chest. He had room and held her. 

“Effie.” He whispered softly as he undid the wrap in her head. Her hair was shorter and softer now. 

She hummed, “What is it Haymitch?”

“Will you ever forgive me?” He asked her gently. 

“I don’t know.” She whispered with a calm voice. 

“I won’t leave you or Marius ever again.” He vowed and looked into her blue eyes. They didn’t talk about the future or anything so far ahead. They were not even certain they would live through the rebellion. 

Effie nuzzled his chest and slept. Haymitch slept until Marius woke him. Effie sat up. “It’s time for his feeding.” She looked tired.

“I’ll do it.” He muttered and searched for a bottle. He found one and picked his son from his crib. 

Marius quieted as soon as he sucked on the bottle. He opened his eyes and then closed them. “You can sing to him.” Effie said from the bed. 

Haymitch started singing an old lullaby. Marius’s eyes dropped as he burped him. He was asleep once more.

He went to bed with her. “You sing beautifully.” Effie kissed his jaw. Haymitch felt at peace when she kissed him. They were on the mend. 

“I wouldn’t call my voice beautiful.” He grumbled. 

She smiled and caressed his head, “Haymitch, your voice is beautiful.”

He kissed her forehead and slept again. 

Effie and him did not have much time to ponder on their new living arrangements. The preparations for the Finnick’s wedding was upon them. 

Katniss and the Hawthorne boy were shipped to District 2. They would be back in time for the wedding. Effie was busy with planning the event. She spent all day with Annie and other stylists. He worked in the command rooms and then he went to his quarters to spend time with Marius.

Their time was at night. She would always lean into his embrace. “We have a big, big day tomorrow.” She chirped that night.

“Yes, Princess.” He muttered and kissed her neck. He inhaled her scent and pulled her close. Effie kissed his chin and trailed kisses to his mouth. He kissed her gently and felt her freeze. 

“What happened?” he mumbled when she looked scared of him.

“I forgot to reserve the nice chairs.” She gasped and he laughed. It was such an Effie thing to say. She would obsess over little details. 

He laughed hard and she shoved him on his shoulder. 

“This is important Haymitch.” She said with a small outraged voice. She was trying to be quiet for the baby. 

He kept laughing until tears rolled down his cheeks. “I love you.” He said and kissed her mouth.

It was such an Effie thing to do. To care about stupid chairs. She froze and he stopped laughing. “You don’t.” She said with a scared voice. 

“I do.” He said and tried to convey all he felt for her. She did not say anything but merely kissed him. “We have a big, big day ahead.”


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It was a big day. Effie woke them up. Marius and him grumbled. 

“Feed and dress your son.” She said as a good morning greeting. She wore her hair in spikes and had make up, not as much as she used to when they were in the capitol but enough make up. She wore a pink dress. Effie looked like a merchant’s daughter. She looked like a woman from one of the districts.

“How about a kiss?” He grumbled. 

Effie pecked him. “Quick. You have slept enough today.”

She was a whirlwind of movement. “Haymitch don’t dawdle.” He kissed her mouth. She was quiet about his love declaration. She did not believe him. He would make her believe him. 

“His clothes and yours are in the third drawer. Dress.”

Haymitch fed a sleepy Marius and then changed his diapers. He would not miss this part when he was grown up. He almost gagged and then washed his son. Marius did not fuss much that morning. Not as much as he did when he had to go to Hazelle’s or Mrs. Everdeen’s.

Effie had chosen blue trousers and a matching coat thing for their son. Marius was having none of it. 

“Marius, stop wiggling your legs. She will force you to dress up either way.” His son was dressed after five attempts. 

He placed the baby inside the crib with a stuffed bunny courtesy of Hazelle. 

Haymitch showered and put on a grey suit. He did not look half bad he thought. 

The wedding would be televised and would take place midday. There were certain celebrations to be observed or so Effie explained in one of her rants. 

He met with Katniss who wore a nice yellow dress. Peeta and the Carthwright girl were by the other side making sure the food was placed correctly. Haymitch saw Effie giving instructions left and right. She smiled at him when she found him. 

Soon Annie and Finnick were husband and wife. The dancing started. Effie looked happy with the results of her planning. 

Katniss danced with Primrose and Gale. He saw as Peeta danced with the Carthwright girl. Effie smiled at him 

“They look very happy.” She remarked as she sat down with him and Marius who was asleep now. 

“He’s been in love with that girl for years.” Haymitch replied and looked at the rest of the people there. They were all staring at Effie. She was different, some of them looked at her with curiosity, others with fear, some with disgust and a few with anger. She sat by him. 

“They are all looking at me.” Effie said with an uncertain voice. 

“Has anyone said anything? tried anything?” Haymitch asked as he cut some of the meat on his plate.

“No, I don’t belong here. That’s all.” She said without giving importance to the situation.

A slower dance began to play. “We have been characters in a television show. Let’s give them another little show. Let them know that you are one of us. They will have to get used to you princess.” Katniss and Prim came back 

“Watch Marius.” He addressed Katniss. 

Haymitch stood up and offered his hand to Effie. “Care to dance?”

He pulled her up and led her to the dance area. Effie pretended easiness. They danced. 

“I had forgotten how well you dance.” She said as he spun her elegantly. 

“I had forgotten myself.” He said with a smirk. 

Another set started with a faster beat. Haymitch danced with her. Effie smiled and laughed when he spun her quickly. 

He barked a laugh and kissed her gently, “Let’s give them their little show.” He smirked. 

She smiled, “You are a horrible man Haymitch.” There was no reproach in her words. 

He saw many district people shocked. Heavensbee smiled ear to ear. It would be wonderful promotion for their propos. 

Katniss smiled and danced with Effie too. The wedding was a smashing success. They posed and laughed for pictures and even Alma Coin looked pleased. 

They retired when it was evident no more propos could be made. Effie kissed his cheek gently and let him escort them to their quarters. 

“It was very smart letting them film us dancing. Plutarch will be very happy with you.” Effie said as she removed her earrings and removed her make up. 

“I daresay he will. The people here will know you and Marius are my family.” Haymitch put the baby to sleep. 

“Are we?” Effie asked. Her back was to him. She undressed and slipped into her grey standard nightgown.

Haymitch turned her around, “You are. You, Marius, Katniss and Peeta. You are my family.”

She cried, big ugly sobs. “I’m so scared Haymitch. I know Peeta and I are here. We are safe but he could kill Katniss. I close my eyes and I remember the cell. They didn’t let me eat. Peeta saved me his food. They hit me every hour and would make him watch. They said it was Katniss’ and your fault. I blamed you. You are guilty but I am so happy when you are here. You keep me safe and I hate you.” 

He hugged her, “I hate you too. You are Capitol and you were gone.”

She laughed, “I love you too. I love you very much.” 

He kissed her gently, “I love you too. I realized when you were not by my side. I missed your nagging.” He nuzzled her neck. 

“I was convinced I would hate you forever. I only lasted a few weeks.” Effie whispered. “Pathetic isn’t it. It would be best if I stayed away. We are wrong for each other.”

He frowned, “ten months.” He muttered against her cheek.

“What?” She asked, a little confused. 

“You were captured and away from seven and then refused to acknowledge me for three more.” He looked into her blue eyes with pain. 

She was in pain. “Can we just go to bed?”

He kissed her. “We will do whatever you want sweetheart.”

Effie kissed him. He moaned when she curled her fingers on the nape of his neck. 

They made out like teenagers. Marius stopped them when they were rubbing against each other. 

“I’ll get him to sleep in no time.” He moaned when she nipped at his lower lip. 

“Your son effectively ruined the mood.” She said cheekily. 

He groaned and moved to the crib. “Marius. Mommy and I were about to do very important things. What is the matter?”

The baby was soiled, “Let’s fix this.”

There were no more opportunities for him to persuade Effie to show him some love. Katniss went on the Capitol mission the following day.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“It is madness. He cannot go too.” Effie shrieked

“Too late. He is gone.” Haymitch wanted a drink. He wanted alcohol badly. 

“Coin, she wants Katniss dead.” Effie raged and yelled in their quarters. 

“We will know soon.” They were watching the 76th hunger games as Finnick put it. 

Peeta had been sent the night before. A special request approved by President Coin. Effie was not wrong. District 13’s leader wanted the Mockingjay dead. She counted on Peeta to make it happen. 

Effie and him watched for days. They were used to watching others die. They were happy when there was no reported news that Peeta or Katniss were dead. That was until Beetee managed to make contact with Cressida.

“Finnick and Castor are dead.” Effie and him were shocked. 

“Finnick married Annie a week ago.” She said to him. Haymitch nodded and held her. 

He held her all night. “Who will tell Annie?” Haymitch shook his head and held her to him. 

They were all in the command room when it happened. He was transfixed by the screen. “Beetee, that is insane. The Hawthorne boy does not understand the arena. Those are children. They are children Beetee; call them off.” Haymitch yelled. 

Effie gasped when she understood what was happening. They heard the explosions. He saw the healers attend to the injured and then the second blasts. 

Haymitch felt sick to his stomach. “You sent Primrose.” Effie cried. 

“Katniss and Peeta.” Effie said fearfully. 

“We won’t know until later.” Alma Coin left the command room. 

Plutarch was there as well. “They will soon send their surrender.”

They stayed up all night waiting for news. The surrender communique was in an hour after the bombings in President Snow’s palace. Effie cried in relief when they learned that Peeta was safe and that although Katniss was injured she was alive. 

“Get me a hovercraft now.” Haymitch thundered.

“Effie, grab Marius meet me at the Hangar in ten.” She nodded and kissed his mouth. She left the rooms. 

“You owe me this.” He hissed to Plutarch. 

“The hovercraft awaits.” The Capitol man said. 

The ride was tumultuous. Marius fussed. Effie was afraid of going back to the Capitol. They arrived at the palace and Paylor offered them a suite in the West wing. Effie pleaded to see Peeta and Katniss at once.

Peeta was calm, “Where is Katniss? I don’t want to be here. I want to go home. Where is Katniss?”

“She is injured but alive. Our girl is a fighter.” Effie said and stayed with Peeta for a few hours until Haymitch bullied and bribed his way to Katniss. 

He came back for Effie. The woman startled and sat up on the bed. She turned to the side and saw Marius sleeping peacefully. 

“What happened? Where is she?” Effie asked quickly. 

“Sedated. I had to get Mrs. Everdeen and Annie from District 13.” Effie understood the need for Annie to be in the Capitol but why should they need Mrs. Everdeen. Effie feared the worst. 

“Will Katniss recover?” She asked as Haymitch checked on Marius. 

He looked at her and nodded, “She will. Primrose is dead.” 

Effie hugged him. They were so exhausted that sleep came without trouble. She woke up as Haytmitch dressed. 

“Where are you going?” She asked quickly. 

“Get dressed. You and Marius are going to District 12.” He said decisively. 

Effie shook her head, “I will not leave you and the kids here.”

Haymitch kissed her forehead, “you have to. Things will spiral down from now on. “We have to make sure Marius is safe. Heavensbee has a hovercraft ready. Go to my house. There is money in my room. Take care of things.”

“Haymitch please don’t do this.” She said panicked. 

“It’s the only way. Don’t I always come back. Don’t I always find you.” He said confidently. 

Effie nodded. “Take care and come back to us.” 

She kissed his lips sweetly before he left the room. Effie would never remember the following days. Coin was dead. Katniss killed her. Effie almost had a mental breakdown when she read the letter from Plutarch. She could not. All she was aware of was that Marius needed to eat, be clean and that she had to fix Haymitch’s house. She began to clean and make their house habitable. She heard nothing from the Capitol or Haymitch during three weeks. She ventured to the village but tried to be as discreet as possible. Greasy Sae was civil to her, so was Peeta’s friend. Effie stayed away. She was afraid for Marius. He heard one of the men call her Haymitch’s whore one day she bought some cloths at the market. Delly had done all her shopping after that incident. 

Effie ran out of things to fix by the second month. She needed to hear from Haymitch. Mrs. Everdeen had gone with Annie and Effie had felt pure rage at her behavior. She was supposed to take care of Katniss. Effie wrote to the Capitol to no avail. 

It was about five months when Katniss and Haymitch came back. Katniss was thin, pale and as if in another world. 

Effie hugged and kissed him after they put Katniss to bed. “She sees a doctor every week. He will call and talk to her.” Haymitch said tiredly. 

“The house looks different.” He said. Effie nodded, “do you like it?”

“I don’t not like it.” He said as she winked and took his hand. “Where are we going?”

Effie took him to their son’s room. He was asleep. She had decorated the room in soft blues and greens. Haymitch zeroed in on his child. “He’s gotten too big. Does he speak yet?”

Effie shook her head. “Not yet. You have not missed much Haymitch.” She said consolingly. 

Effie showed him Peeta’s room. “When will he come to us?”

“His doctor wants to work with him for more months. He is not ready to be near Katniss.” He said tiredly. 

Effie took him to their room. She kissed him more forcefully. He held back. “Do you not want to?” She whispered fearfully. 

“Of course I want to. I just don’t want to presume.” He said nervously. 

Effie made love to him and slept much easier with his arms around her. 

It took years for Haymitch to marry her. Effie did not exactly look forward to wedding not anymore. She had been very busy with Marius, Katniss and Peeta. The kids had nightmares so did Effie and Haymitch. It had been strange for Katniss to talk to Peeta.

They were like strangers and then became friendly. Peeta’s episodes were almost gone and it seemed Katniss was the only one who triggered him but made him come back to himself. They moved to Katniss’ house after Marius’ first birthday. They wanted privacy. Haymtich had found them in a very compromising position. Peeta convinced Katniss to move out. 

Haymtich looked furious one day after picking Marius from school. “Haymitch, what happened?”

Marius looked confused. He was about five. “I told him about Macy’s nickname for you.” 

Effie arched an eyebrow. Macy’s parents did not like her much. “What do they call mommy sweetheart.” 

“They call you daddy’s whore.” He said with big eyes. Haymitch’s eyes. 

She could tell her partner fought to control his anger. He came near Marius. “Never call mommy that again. Forget what they said. Mommy is definitely not that word. Tell that ugly little girl that your mommy and daddy are married. Mommy is daddy’s wife. 

Effie frowned, “My son is not a liar.” 

“He won’t be sweetheart. Get yourself a dress. We will marry in two hours.” He said determined. Effie grinned “Fine. But only because the new baby will make me look big in a few weeks.” 

Haymitch and Marius wore the same confused look. Effie kissed Marius. “Go to your room and wear your suit.” The boy ran up the stairs. 

“Are you sure?” Haymitch asked. 

“Very sure. Are you happy?” She asked. 

The man kissed her and held her. “you have no idea how happy you make me.” Effie kissed his cheek and neck. 

They were married that afternoon. Katniss and Peeta were there smiling and playing with Marius. 

Effie gave birth to a little girl named Julia. She had her daddy wrapped around her finger. 

Effie and Haymitch bickered every day but were happy. They had nightmares but knew how to comfort each other. They never set foot in the Capitol ever again. Effie never knew that Haymitch fought for months so that their children never had to fight in the Hunger Games.


End file.
